


Avatar: Princess of Power

by Rivkah94



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: ADVENTURE!, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Gen, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-23
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:34:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 50,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21526810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rivkah94/pseuds/Rivkah94
Summary: The Avatar vanished one-hundred years ago, and the Fire Nation's hold on the world tightens ever more. Glimmer and Bow, members of the Rebellion led by the Southern Water Tribe, struggle to make a difference to the world and keep hope alive. Adora and Catra, freshly trained Fire Nation soldiers, are eager to prove themselves and their loyalty. Fire Lord Hordak plots his final victory, and the once-mighty nations cower before the might of his army.But everything changes when the Avatar returns.
Comments: 63
Kudos: 113





	1. Book 1: Water - Something to Prove

**Author's Note:**

> I saw some She-Ra Avatar AU fanart once, and I couldn't stop myself. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it!

_Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the Four Nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed her most, she vanished. A hundred years passed, and now the Fire Nation draws ever closer to total world domination. Many people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads, a society long since destroyed by the Fire Nation army. The world believes that the Avatar cycle has broken, and with it most hope of peace. Only the Rebellion, an organization that has risen from the ashes of the devastated Southern Water Tribe, still believes that the Fire Nation can be defeated, and balance restored to the world._

I _still believe balance can be restored to the world . . ._

* * *

Glimmer stood on the snowy ridge overlooking the Rebellion settlement, her fur-lined coat pulled tightly around her as the wind burned her eyes. They had retreated further inland than the Southern Water Tribe had lived in centuries, and the temperatures were devastatingly low. Before her sprawled an array of squat igloos, hastily constructed from blocks of ice. It was a paltry village compared to what the tribe had been when she was a small child, but of course then her father had been alive, and they had still lived along the coast.

“Glimmer!” 

She turned as Bow, her stalwart best friend and partner in crime, scrambled up the ridge beside her, clapping bits of hard-packed snow off of his mittens.

“What are you doing up here? You’ll freeze into an ice sculpture!”

“Nothing. I’m just . . . relaxing.”

“Relaxing?” Bow looked around, “Up here, alone, in the cold?”

Glimmer looked away.

“Is this because your mom won’t let you go with the raiding party?”

Glimmer kicked a hefty chunk of snow and watched as it flew down toward the village and crunched against the ground. Her mother was the village chief and leader of the Rebellion, two titles that would be passed on to Glimmer in time - if her mother ever let her do anything!

“Glimmer-”

“She treats me like a little kid! I mean, what is _with_ her, Bow?!” Glimmer whirled around and gestured to the village below them, “ _This_ is all that’s left of our home, and our allies keep abandoning us! We need all the help we can get, and I’m ready! But she just shuts me down every time I even _suggest_ . . . well . . . _anything!_ ”

“I know you’re frustrated, but, in this case, maybe your mom has a point?”

“I’m the only _waterbender_ aside from her! I should be on the front lines against the Fire Nation! You know, water puts out fires!”

Bow put a hand on Glimmer’s shoulder. He’d known her only two years now, but she was the closest friend he’d ever had, and he admired her more than anybody else. She was ambitious and determined and her convictions were strong. But she was also reckless, and while Bow knew she hated to hear it from him too, he didn’t want to lose his best friend. Not after everything else they’d both lost in this war.

“Glimmer, you’re really smart and work really hard, but . . . You still can’t do _that_ much with your waterbending. I mean, it’s really cool what you _can_ do, but you get tired quickly, and against an army of fire flinging maniacs, you’d be toast! You can’t control the whole ocean.”

Glimmer pulled away, but she knew Bow was right. But how could she get any better without some practical experience? Her mother was the only other waterbender left in the tribe, and she rarely had time to train with Glimmer. Any free time they _did_ spend together usually ended in an argument.

“I just . . . I want to _do_ something, you know?” she said with a sigh that caught against the coat flap pulled across her nose and mouth, “I don’t want to just give up.”

“Hey, nobody’s giving up. At least, I’m not,” Bow put an arm around her shoulder, “We’ll win this war, we will. But we have to be _alive_ to do that.”

“We also need allies. If she won’t let me go on a raid, I want to visit the other nations! At _least_ our own sister tribe!”

“The Northern Water Tribe withdrew from the Rebellion years ago-”

“I know, I know. But maybe things have changed! There’s new management!”

Glimmer reached up to place her hands on Bow’s shoulders. As she did, she wondered when he had gotten so much taller than her. When her hands pressed against him, she felt a hint of the muscle that lay beneath his coat. 

He had spent every day practicing with his bow and arrow after two of his older brothers were killed defending the Earth Kingdom. A week after his family received the news, he began building the weapon himself, and, when it was complete, he left his home behind and traveled south to join the Rebellion. His eyes were framed by dark circles; the evidence of late nights spent carving and designing new types of arrows. He was always ready with an encouraging word or a witty comment, but, when he thought nobody was looking, Glimmer could see how _tired_ he was. She tightened her grip on his shoulders.

“Bow, it’s like you said. I . . . I can’t go up against an army of fire benders. But with the support of the other tribe . . . “

Bow nodded. She knew he would agree. Standing still was just as painful for him as it was for her. She could barely remember her father these days; she had been so young when he’d been killed in the Rebellion’s last real attempt to crack the Fire Nation. Instead, the Rebellion had cracked, and the pieces still crumbled off to this day.

“It’s getting late,” Bow said, looking up at the sun that hung permanently in the winter sky, “I think. My stomach’s grumbling either way.”

Glimmer took one more look across the village. _We can’t keep living like this_ , she thought, _And if my mother won’t do anything about it, then I will._ She took a deep breath, a plan already forming in her mind, and descended the ridge with Bow at her heels.

* * *

Adora adjusted her uniform in the mirror. She stood in the corner of her room in the Fire Nation barracks. Not much fit in the room aside from a bed and dresser, but there was a small rug spread across the floor, and finely crafted tapestries bearing the emblem of the Fire Nation hung from the walls. Beside the door, her dual dao swords hung from a wall-mounted weapon rack, hilts and blades glinting in the low lamplight. 

It was midday, and her regiment was scheduled for a training exercise that would be viewed by Fire Lord Hordak himself. Adora had grown up in the Fire Nation capital, but she had only seen the Fire Lord two or three times in her entire life. She examined her hair and let out a huff as she pulled it free from its bun and began to rake a comb through it. Shadow Weaver, the Fire Lord’s most trusted advisor, head of his military affairs, and Adora’s adoptive mother, would be appalled if she appeared with even a hair out of place. 

She carefully folded her hair again and tied it firmly into place. She nodded at her reflection. Perfect-

Bang! Bang!

“Hey, Adora!” 

Adora crossed to the door with a few quick strides and yanked it open.

“You don’t have to knock it down!”

“You’re taking _forever_ ,” Catra whined, tapping a foot, “Aren’t you ready yet?”

“I want to look nice! The Fire Lord will be there-”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah! Trust me, nobody has let me forget it. But he won’t even be able to _see_ your uniform from way up on the wall. Relax.”

Catra slung an arm around Adora’s shoulder and pulled her toward the hallway. Adora reached out and grabbed her swords before she was whisked away. She attached the sheaths to her belt as she followed Catra toward the training ground. 

Her best friend had a remarkable ability to be unbothered by these sorts of things. Most people probably believed _nothing_ could bother Catra, but Adora knew that wasn’t really true. They had met when they were small, and Adora had accompanied her mother to the capital’s orphanage. Her mother had gone to recruit older children into the army, and Adora had busied herself playing with the residents that were her own age. 

She had loved playing with Catra so much that she pressed Shadow Weaver into returning every few days, until finally her mother just took Catra home with them and gave her a room with the servants in their household. There was no one who knew her better than Catra, and no one who knew Catra better than her. Adora smiled at the back of her friend’s head, glad they had joined the army together.

They stepped out into the bright sun and joined the horde of other soldiers that beelined toward the training ground. Adora took stock of the people around her, glad to see most of her regiment looking prim and proper. It seemed even if Catra had shrugged off Fire Lord Hordak’s presence, most of the army felt compelled to take even more care with their weapons and uniforms than usual.

As they passed through the doors to the training field, Adora and Catra split apart to take their respective places. Catra joined a line of fire benders attached to their regiment, and Adora stood four rows back with the non-benders that trained in weapons combat. The training grounds were surrounded by walls that allowed the higher-ranking personnel to observe larger scale maneuvers and critique form on a whole-regiment scale. The red Fire Nation banners swayed in the wind as a hush fell across the troops.

Adora looked up and saw her mother atop the wall, both hands resting on the stone rim in front of her. She was too far to make eye contact with, but Adora knew she would be seeking her in the crowd. Luckily, she was easy to spot with her unusually light hair. Even if her mother had been closer, it would not have been easy to read what she was thinking, as she kept most of her face, except for her eyes, covered at all times. 

Adora had only seen her entire face once and understood why she kept it hidden. It was riddled with scars. Adora still didn’t know how she got them, and she didn’t dare ask.

The energy around her shifted as everyone straightened their backs and puffed out their chests. Beside Shadow Weaver, a figure stepped up to the edge of the wall and looked down across the troops. He was several inches taller than Adora’s mother, who was already quite tall, and his skin was very pale. Paler than Adora had remembered it, but perhaps it was the sun.

Fire Lord Hordak was imposing. Even from afar, Adora could feel the power that radiated from him. It felt as if the world were holding its breath, until, finally, a sergeant called out orders, and the training exercise began. 

* * *

Bow’s eyes darted between Glimmer and Angella, the chief of the Southern Water Tribe. He sat with his knees up and leaned back onto his palms, toying nervously with a hair in the white bear pelt that covered the floor of the igloo. In the firelight, Angella’s sharp face looked even longer and sterner than usual. 

Bow sat between Glimmer and Netossa, a warrior of the Southern Water Tribe who refused to give up the fight, but also lacked much practical experience. On Netossa’s other side sat Spinnerella, also a Southern Water Tribe warrior, whose parents had both passed away with Glimmer’s father. Bow didn’t think she looked much like a warrior, but he admired the courage it took to sit at the war table after a loss like that.

Netossa shifted uneasily and leaned over to Spinnerella to murmur in her ear. The Rebellion’s war meetings often went like this these days. Angella went over reports she’d received from the tribe scouts and couriers, Glimmer suggested a plan that was, admittedly, not too well thought out. Angella shot her down but offered no alternative, and then they argued. Loudly.

“We haven’t made a move against the Fire Nation in _months_!” Glimmer exclaimed, leaning toward her mother across the furred igloo floor, “We need to do something before they’re unstoppable!”

“Glimmer!” Angella snapped, “We cannot charge recklessly against every Fire Nation regiment that deploys! We do not have the numbers or the weapons.”

“We have _me!_ I can waterbend! Let me _help!_ ”

“I said _no_ , young lady! You’re not nearly strong enough to stand against a trained firebender!”

“Well maybe if you’d _train_ me,” Glimmer grumbled.

“Glimmer! I have a responsibility to the tribe! I cannot spend my days giving into your every whim.”

“Right. When I want to learn to waterbend it’s a whim, but when _you_ were learning, you got a teacher seven days a week!”

“Times are different now-”

“And they’ll never change! Not if you keep sitting around doing nothing!”

Angella rose to her feet, towering over everyone who sat on the floor before her. Bow leaned back and winced.

“That is _enough!_ We will talk no more of this! You are dismissed from this war council! You will return home, _now!_ ”

“Fine!” Glimmer rose to her feet and stormed out into the cold.

“I’m just gonna, uh . . . I’ll just . . . “ Bow stammered as he rose to his feet and backed out of the igloo.

“Glimmer!” he shouted as he chased after her.

Glimmer trudged toward the amalgamation of igloos that made up her family’s home, her arms crossed and her hands shoved into her armpits. Bow followed as quickly as he could, but the wind was picking up, and the snow was deep. By the time he pushed past the furs and animal skins that hung in the doorway, he was sweating in his coat.

Glimmer and Angella’s home was three igloos connected by arched tunnels that shot off each side of the main building toward their respective bedrooms. A fire crackled low in the large, central room, but Glimmer stormed past without stoking it and disappeared into her bedroom. The flap in the doorway swung violently behind her. 

Bow sighed and knelt beside the fire. He picked up the small bowl of seal oil that sat beside it and dumped a few drops onto the flames, leaning back as the fire sparked to life. He left the fire to grow and followed Glimmer into her room. She sat on her bed, her boots lying in a pile in front of her and her overcoat strewn across the floor. The fire in her room was just roaring to life.

“Hey,” Bow said, sitting cross-legged in front of her.

“Hey.”

“Maybe if you try asking her to teach you healing-”

“I don’t want to talk about it, Bow.”

“Oh,” Bow scratched the back of his head, “Well, if you’re sure-”

“I mean, am I wrong? Hmmm?”

Glimmer narrowed her eyes at Bow and leaned toward him, their noses almost touching. Bow leaned back and stared up at the ceiling, letting out a long sigh.

“I don’t think you’re wrong that we need to make a move, but I think you’re taking the wrong approach with your mom. I just don’t think you’re ever going to get her to say yes by arguing like this every time.”

“What else can I do though? Just accept that we’re letting the Fire Nation destroy us all?”

“No! Just, I dunno! She’s _your_ mom! But this is the third time this week I’ve sat through your fighting!”

Bow threw his hands in the air.

“Just try something - _anything_ \- else!”

Glimmer leaned against the wall and crossed one leg over the other. Her mother didn’t believe she was capable, but there was really no way to prove her wrong without being given the chance to show what she could do. It was true that she was no master waterbender, but she was good with a spear, and she had Bow to back her up. 

She and Bow made a great team. Since he’d arrived from the Earth Kingdom, they’d gone on plenty of adventures exploring and hunting in the nearby tundra. But no matter how much food and how many pelts they returned with, Angella just told Glimmer not to worry her by running off without permission and turned away.

Running off without permission . . .

“Hey, Bow.”

“Yeah?”

“We’re pretty sneaky, right?”

“Uh, yeah. I mean,” Bow gestured to the fur that covered the entrance to a tunnel of packed snow that ran underneath the wall into Glimmer’s room, “Your mom still hasn’t noticed that.”

“And we’re good at hunting, right? They almost never hear us coming.”

“I wouldn’t say _never_ . I mean, there was that time you sneezed _so_ loud that it started a snow-leopard caribou stampede!” 

Bow started laughing, his hood sliding off the top of his head and slumping against his shoulders. Glimmer gave him a distant, unamused look. He looked at her and his laugh turned into a cough.

“Uh, anyway. Normally, yeah, we’re pretty good.”

“Hunting’s more effective with a small group anyway.”

“That’s generally true, yes . . . Why are you talking about hunting all of a sudden?”

He saw the glint in her eyes.

“Glimmer. Glimmer, no.”

“Glimmer, _yes_. At the start of the war meeting, mom mentioned that she’d gotten word of a Fire Nation company set to arrive at an island south of the Earth Kingdom in a week. If we leave first thing in the morning, we can make it!”

“And do what exactly?!”

“ _Spy!_ I know the two of us aren’t enough to defeat a whole company, but maybe we can figure out what the Fire Nation is planning! Or maybe the people who live on the island will fight back, and we can join them!”

“I dunno, Glimmer . . .”

“Come on, Bow. You didn’t build that for nothing,” she said, pointing to the bow and quiver that rested on the floor beside him.

Bow reached out and took one of his arrows, rolling it back and forth in his hands. It was made from wood and tipped with animal bone. Wood was hard to come by these days, but Bow made sure to trade for it whenever he could. He’d been working on his design for years, but he only really knew how it held up against wildlife. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t want to know how it performed in battle.

“You’re right,” he said, “I didn’t. But we’re not going to be stupid. If we get there and there’s too many of them, we’ll spy and then report back to your mom.”

Glimmer nodded and lurched forward, throwing her arms around Bow.

“I _knew_ I could count on you!”

“Hey, that’s what best friends are for! If we’re leaving in the morning, then I need to get ready. I’ll meet you back here when everyone else is still asleep.”

Glimmer nodded again and watched as Bow pulled up his hood and clambered down into their secret tunnel. It connected right to his igloo, but also to a series of other tunnels they had dug out over the years, one of which led directly out of the village. It spit them out a mile out of the way, but Glimmer knew her mother would never catch them. 

She slumped back onto her bed of furs and stared up at the ceiling, fists clenched against her chest. Her eyes moved to the spear that leaned against the wall on the other side of the room. Her father’s.

“Watch me, dad,” she whispered, “I’ll make you proud.”

* * *

The sea air whipped across the deck as Adora stared out across the ocean from the helm of a monstrous iron ship. She had seen the ocean before from the shores around the capital’s port and summer trips to the beaches at Ember Island, but it was one thing to stare out at the endless expanse of water and another to be smack in the middle of it. It had taken a couple of days travel to adjust to the rocking of the waves, but now Adora could stride confidently around the ship without fear of being sick.

“Hey, _Captain!_ ” 

Adora turned as Catra swaggered toward her like she’d been a sailor for years. She had adapted quickest to the movement of the ship, graceful as always. 

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Adora asked, turning back to the sea.

Catra leaned over the side of the ship and scowled.

“I hate swimming,” she muttered, “It better stay where it is.”

Adora laughed and elbowed Catra gently in the side. It was true that Catra did not mix well with water. Adora remembered the other servants even had a hard time getting Catra to take a bath when she was younger.

“So, how’s your fancy new promotion treating you, hmmm?” Catra asked with a snicker.

Adora hmphed slightly and raised her chin, straightening her back and clasping her hands behind her hips.

“Very well, actually. You better not make too much fun of me, since you’ll probably be put in charge of your own company next.”

“Yeah, right,” Catra rolled her eyes, “That’ll never happen.”

“Why not?”

“Shadow Weaver will never talk me up like she does you.”

Adora’s head dropped, and she looked down at her shoes. It was true that her mother had spoken to the generals about her, but was that really the only reason she got this promotion? She’d been working doubly hard for months, hoping to advance.

“H-Hey, I didn’t mean it like that,” Catra said quickly, “I just mean, no matter _how_ good I am or how much I do, Shadow Weaver isn’t going to think to say anything about me.”

It was true, and Adora knew it. Despite the fact that Catra had grown up in their house, Shadow Weaver spared her little attention, and any attention she did give was usually to admonish or scold. She critiqued Adora often as well, but only when it was deserved. If she did well, Shadow Weaver would congratulate her, as she had after the training exercise.

Adora had been on her way to wash away the sweat of training when her mother approached her in the courtyard of the military barracks. 

“You did well today, Adora,” Shadow Weaver said, placing a hand on her daughter’s shoulder, “Fire Lord Hordak was most impressed by your showing in the mock battle. You led your company well.”

“Thank you,” Adora said, beaming, “I’m glad the Fire Lord is pleased with our work.”

“Adora, don’t be so modest. You are far more capable than anyone else in your company - that much is obvious.”

“Everyone else has been training really hard lately-”

“I’m not talking about them, Adora, I’m talking about _you_.”

“I’m not even a fire bender though. Compared to them-”

“There is far more to the art of war than being able to bend. You have a tactical mind and a natural talent for leadership. It was clear that your fellow soldiers listen closely to what you have to say, and you are able to execute a plan quickly and effectively.”

During the mock battle, benders and non-benders had been grouped together into companies, and then each company set against another. Catra and Adora’s squads had been allied, and they both relished in the opportunity to fight together. It started off shakey, with the enemy gaining the upper hand quickly by dispatching half of their benders before they could even execute a plan.

That’s when Adora had stepped in. With Catra as a distraction, she and Lonnie, another non-bender from her squad, managed to slip into the enemy ranks and take out the boy who had clearly stepped up as the leader. He wasn’t a bad fighter, but he relied too much on his raw bending power and not enough on his form. Adora caught him off balance and pinned him after a short fight. Once he was gone, the enemy fell apart, and Catra swooped in with her benders to decimate their opponents.

“I couldn’t have done it without Catra,” Adora insisted.

Shadow Weaver shook her head, a bemused look in her eyes.

“Brute strength isn’t enough to win a war, Adora. We need minds like yours.”

She Adora gently on the forehead and then folded her arms into the sleeves of her robes.

“I have good news: you’re being promoted to the rank of captain. You will officially lead your company in battle. This is the first step to climbing the military ladder.”

Adora’s eyes widened. Promoted?

“That’s . . . Wow. Thank you, mom! Thank you, thank you, thank you-”

“Hush, hush, now. You’re a captain, you’ve got to behave with dignity.”

“Right,” Adora cleared her throat and straightened her back, “Thank you, General.”

“Your promotion will be announced tomorrow, along with your company’s first assignment.”

Adora’s eyes went wide again.

“Assignment? We’re being deployed? Where?”

“All in time, Adora. I wouldn’t want to spoil all of the surprises. I’m sure you’ll make me proud.”

“I will!” Adora watched as Shadow Weaver strode away, back toward the road that would lead her to the palace, “I won’t let you down, mom.”

And that was how Adora and Catra came to be on the deck of a warship, Adora still trying to adjust to her new rank like one adjusts to new shoes. 

“I told my mom that we couldn’t have won the mock battle without you,” Adora said.

Catra snorted and leaned against the rail of the ship. She let out a long sigh followed by a yawn. Adora wished she could do more to make their commanding officers see Catra’s potential, but her flippant personality grated on many of them, and it was clear that most had decided she would never amount to anything. 

_She’ll prove them wrong_ , Adora thought, _Just wait until we get into a real fight._

In two days, they would reach the southern islands of the Earth Kingdom. Adora’s adrenaline began to pump as she thought about the moment when they would make land, when they would finally be able to demonstrate their loyalty to the Fire Nation. The mission was to cut off trade routes that the army suspected were used to supply the Rebellion. It would be a simple job, but it still made Adora’s insides twist to think about it. 

She placed her hands tightly on the ship’s railing and stared into the horizon. Soon, they would arrive.

Soon, they would all have a chance to prove themselves.


	2. Book 1: Water - Skirmish

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! I'm super excited to post the second chapter of this fic and announce that I'm going to be updating every other week on Fridays! There is the potential that when I have a lot of time I may post more than one chapter in one update, but the cadence of my updates will remain every other week. I hope you enjoy!

The Earth Kingdom village wasn’t much to look at. Squat walls and thatched roofs dotted the landscape before them as the warship began to slow, preparing to make land. A single dock of cracked wood jutted out into the sea. The beach was narrow and sloped up to a field of swaying grasses and the occasional patch of trees. In the distance, the dirt road that cut through the center of the village ran uphill and disappeared into a dense wood. The slope from the dock up toward the forest was gentle, but the beach wrapped only briefly around to the south before coming to an abrupt halt against a rocky cliff-face. 

If this town _was_ trading directly with the Rebellion, this was the only place for ships to make port. 

Adora grabbed onto Catra’s arm as the ship jerked to a halt. Catra swayed with the vessel and snickered as she held Adora firmly on her feet. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and the only sound was that of the waves and the alligator gulls overhead. Adora squinted and raised a hand to her brow.

“I don’t see anyone,” she whispered to Catra, as the crewmen began to lower the gangway at the bow of the ship.

Her company stood in a blob, unable to form the usual straight lines in the confines of the deck. Their orders were simple: go ashore and gather all townspeople onto the beach. But it didn’t look like there were any townspeople to gather.

“They’re probably all hiding. Cowards,” Catra snorted, “If they don’t want us here, they should stand and fight.”

“We shouldn’t need to fight,” Adora said, “We’re just here to keep the Rebellion from picking up resources.”

“And who’s _giving_ them those resources, huh?”

Everyone jumped as the gangway hit the sand with a mighty thud, sending a shudder through the whole ship. Adora straightened her back and turned to face her soldiers. They were all staring at her, a mixture of excited and trepidatious expressions. Commander Octavia stepped up beside Adora and nodded to her. Adora cleared her throat.

“Move out!” she cried, and then turned and descended the gangway, the rest of the company trampling eagerly after.

Adora made toward the first house she saw. With a grunt, she shoved the front door open. The house was only one room with a cot in the corner and a cook pot lying on its side in the middle. A hand-woven mat was spread across the dirt floor and a pile of rags sat in front of an empty fireplace beside a bucket of water. There was no one inside. Adora scowled and backed away, leaving the door open and swinging in the sea breeze.

As she walked through the town, she saw that not a single soldier had found an occupied building. It was eerie, like the whole town had just disappeared.

 _People don’t just disappear,_ Adora thought, _They knew we were coming. But they couldn’t have gotten far . . ._

Her eyes drifted along the road to the forest. It was the only place to hide. She turned and jogged back down to the beach, approaching Commander Octavia with a salute.

“Commander,” she said, “It seems that all of the villagers have fled.”

Octavia was only a few inches taller than Adora, but far larger with wide shoulders and a muscular build. She stood looking out across the village with crossed arms and narrowed eyes. Eye. Her left eye was covered by a black patch.

“So it would seem,” Octavia growled out.

“I think they must’ve gone into the forest,” Adora continued, “They don’t have the infrastructure to launch an escape by sea.”

“I agree,” Octavia turned to Adora and looked her over, “You’re much younger than the other captains.”

“Um . . . yes. I guess I am.”

She eyed the swords at Adora’s waist.

“Not a bender, eh?” 

“No, Commander. But I’m very good with my swords.”

Octavia snorted.

“We’ll see about that. Let’s find out if you were promoted for your skill and not just because of your mother. Take your company into those woods and bring me the villagers.”

Adora’s stomach clenched as she saluted. Of course people would assume her promotion was favoritism. Fine then. She’d show them.

It didn’t take long for Adora to gather her troops, after all there was nothing to do, and people were eager for some kind of excitement. Catra stood beside her, and before her stood the company she’d trained with for two years now, all eyes on her. Lonnie stood front and center, a hand on one hip and a supportive smile on her face. Beside her, Kyle trembled, his skinny frame almost completely obscured by his armor. Adora took a deep breath and folded her hands behind her back. Not for the first time, she wished she were tall like her mother.

“Soldiers!” she announced, “The people of this village can’t have gotten far! Our orders remain the same: find them and bring them to the commander at the beach! Stay on your toes - they know this forest much better than we do.”

“I say we just burn the whole thing down,” Lonnie said, nodding toward Catra and earning a few shouts of affirmation from the group.

“I like that idea,” Catra said, snapping her fingers and lighting a flame on the tip of her thumb.

“No!” Adora said, “We’re trained soldiers. We don’t need to burn a whole forest down to capture a few civilians. I want us to avoid unnecessary force.”

“Fine,” Catra muttered, extinguishing her flame with a slight roll of her eyes.

“I’ll go in first with Catra,” Adora said, “Everyone else will follow and split into pairs to search. Be careful, and don’t let your guard down.”

* * *

“Hnnnguuuh!” Bow groaned as he and Glimmer pulled their small sailboat onto a needle of beach at the foot of a massive cliff. 

Once the boat was securely grounded, he collapsed, panting. It was possible to man the Water Tribe boat with only two people, but not highly recommended. He’d pointed that out to Glimmer when they first set out a few days ago, and she’d turned to him and said,

“It’s a right of passage in the Southern Water Tribe to sail through the ice floats alone. Mom hasn’t let me do it yet even though I’m sixteen. This will be _my_ right of passage.”

He couldn’t argue with that, and her determination fueled his own. But for all the experience Glimmer had sailing in the frigid waters, he had almost none, and the open sea was a different beast. They’d hoped to arrive a few days before the Fire Nation, but instead they made land the same day the enemy was expected.

Glimmer finished tying a complicated knot to tether the boat to a nearby outcrop of rock and stood over Bow.

“We don’t have time to rest!” she exclaimed, “We’ve got to get up there!”

She pointed up at the cliffside.

“Just . . . give me a minute. You need to take a break too.”

“We don’t have a minute, Bow!”

Bow sat up and leaned his head back, squinting up at the top of the cliff. 

“Do you really think we can climb that?”

Glimmer very much thought they could climb it, and it was only about halfway up, both of them dripping with sweat, hands and knees covered in cuts and bruises, that she began to think maybe Bow had been right about taking a break after all. 

They were tied together at the waist by a thick rope taken from the ship, and they used one of Bow’s precious metal arrows as a pick to secure the rope into the side of the cliff. They had left their heavy Water Nation coats and mittens on the boat, and, as they both clung precariously to the cliffside, muscles shaking with exhaustion, they could just make out the splotches of blue sitting on the deck below them.

“Maybe . . . I can waterbend us up . . .”

“Glimmer,” Bow said, several feet above her, “That will _definitely_ get us killed.”

“Yeah . . .”

“Let’s just hang out here for a few minutes. Ha, ha, get it? Hang out?”

“I’m going to push you off the top of this cliff!”

“Hey! Not cool! Best friends don’t push best friends off cliffs!”

Glimmer rolled her eyes and pressed her forehead against the rock. They had come all this way, and she didn’t want to arrive to find it was too late to see or do anything! They needed to get to the village before the Fire Nation. She stretched an arm up, grabbed onto an outcrop, and tried to heave herself up. But her arms were too tired, and she flopped back down, the rope pulling as she moved. Bow swayed slightly above her, pressing his body against the cliffside, his cheek to the rocks. Glimmer let out a shout of frustration, but Bow suddenly exclaimed,

“Glimmer! Do you see that?”

Bow pointed to their left, and Glimmer leaned back as much as she dared, craning her neck to see. About twenty feet away was a flat outcrop of rock that jutted about eight feet out from the side of the cliff. There was plenty of space for two people to sit and rest.

“Thank goodness!” Glimmer exclaimed, “Let’s go slowly.”

“Way ahead of you!”

They shimmied their way across the rock, Bow leading with his arrow. It was very slow work, with Bow meticulously feeling for proper hand and footholds, but the uneven surface came through every time, and eventually Bow lowered himself onto the outcrop. He pulled Glimmer up and over, and they lay there, staring up at the sky and breathing hard. 

“Maybe we should have just gone around the front,” Bow said.

“They would’ve seen us. Oh, they’re probably already here.”

Glimmer sighed. A moment later she sniffed.

“Hey,” Bow said, flipping onto his side to face her, “It’s okay! They won’t just show up for ten minutes and leave. There’s still a lot of information we can get from spying.”

Glimmer wiped her eyes and sniffled again.

“I know,” she murmured, “I was just . . . really hoping that maybe we could protect them . . . I know we said we weren’t going to try because it’s too dangerous, but still, I really wanted to.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

They lay in silence for a few more minutes, listening to the sounds of the waves as they lapped up against the bottom of the cliff. Bow’s thoughts wandered to his family. What would they think of this? Him lying on the side of a cliff with the daughter of the Rebellion’s leader, ready to walk willingly into a town infested with Fire Nation soldiers.

 _I’m sorry,_ he thought, _This is just something I have to do._

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, now cut in the fashion of the Southern Water Tribe. Would they even recognize him? Of course they would, he didn’t look so different. But he felt like a totally different person than the one who left home two years ago. He wasn’t sure his old self would recognize him now. 

A gust of wind blew across the side of the cliff, rustling the loose fabric around his ankles and abdomen. Glimmer closed her eyes as sand whipped against their faces and caught in their hair. Another gust passed over them, and Bow furrowed his brow as he heard an odd noise. It was a low whistling, like the wind was passing through a tube. He raised his head and looked around, eyes widening as he spotted the source of the noise.

“Glimmer! We don’t have to climb anymore!”

“What? We can’t just stay out here on the side of the rock, Bow-”

“No, look!”

Glimmer sat up and turned around, following Bow’s outstretched arm.

Just a few feet away, half hidden behind a large rock, was a narrow pathway running between two tall sheets of stone, like a knife once sliced down into the cliff and left a deep wound. But it continued on for quite a while, sloping upward, just wide enough for two people to walk side by side.

Glimmer let out a whoop and then clapped her hands over her mouth as the wind carried her exclamation away. 

“Let’s go!” Bow said, jumping to his feet and untying the rope from his waist, “After that, hiking will be a piece of cake.”

Glimmer scrambled up and untied herself, helping Bow roll the rope up and sling it over his shoulder. They stepped carefully around the rock beside them and slipped into the passageway, the sound of the waves falling away abruptly as they stepped between the rock walls. The ground was quite smooth, like many others had trekked over this path before them. 

“People must’ve come down here all the time at some point,” Bow whispered as they walked.

“I’d like to personally thank them,” Glimmer said, relieved that her arms could rest.

It was still a long way to the top, but the path seemed to wind around and continue all the way up. With a renewed determination, Bow and Glimmer trudged their way up the slope, eager to leave the cliff behind them and find what they came for. 

As they walked, Glimmer started to notice carvings in the walls on either side of them. They were barely worn, protected as the path was from all but the strongest gusts, but she got a sense that they were very, very old. She had never seen anything quite like them; she saw a lot of people who appeared to be bending, and other shapes that she didn’t quite understand. She thought they might be animals and the carvings scenes of hunting, but really the odd creatures were more bug-like than anything, and some drawn even larger than the people. 

Furthermore, the strange animals, whatever they were, never appeared beside the humans. Instead, they seemed to mirror whatever the people were doing, but off to the side, separate.

She ran a hand across one of the images as they walked, wondering what kind of people used to live here, and what they might have to say about the world she lived in.

* * *

Adora crept through the underbrush, one hand on the hilt of a sword. In the trees above her head, Catra climbed silently across the branches, eyes darting back and forth across the trees ahead of them. In the distance, she could see the back of Lonnie’s head as she and Rogelio searched for any sign of the villagers. Adora stopped and examined the ground around her. Not a leaf out of place. Not a footprint to be seen. 

Catra dropped down beside Adora and the blonde turned to her and whispered,

“This is more than having a lookout shout that our ships are approaching in the distance. These people knew we were coming at least a day in advance.”

“How?”

Adora lowered her voice even more.

“Someone must’ve told them.”

Catra scowled, clenching her hands into fists.

“So there’s an informant somewhere in the army . . .”

“ _Or_ someone from outside managed to steal military documents.”

“What kind of stupid, incompetant-”

“Shh!”

“What-”

“Shhhh!”

Adora pulled Catra into a crouch beside her and gestured to the right. She couldn’t quite place _what_ it was she’d heard, but there was something out of place amongst the rustling of leaves and the buzzing of bugs. But where? There were no tracks, no broken twigs. Everything was perfectly in order-

_Too perfect._

Adora swept her eyes across the forest. It was all carefully planned. Where to toss the leaves, where to pour the dirt. An undisturbed forest had an element of chaos. Her soldiers had made it harder for themselves now that they were stepping all over the disguise, but around Adora and Catra was a wide swath of “untouched” forest floor. 

“Never mind,” she murmured, looking Catra directly in the eyes.

“Geez,” Catra purred, “You always overreact.”

The girls turned their backs and began to creep away from the trees Adora had turned to. As they slunk around another tree trunk, Adora noted a trail formed by the leaves. It was like looking at negative space - normally when tracking, she wanted to find the trail cut through the leaves, but now that she changed her approach, it was obvious the leaves had been laid out by human hands. 

“I don’t think we’ll find anything here,” Catra said.

Adora straightened up.

“You’re right. Let’s regroup with the others.”

They turned and walked along the leaf path, breaking up the foliage with the thick soles of their boots, arms swinging loosely at their sides. A tension rose in Adora’s chest, a wire pulled taut across her lungs. As they passed by the tree, they nodded at each other, and then Catra was halfway up the trunk, and Adora crouched low, ready to leap after whoever might try to escape.

But the man didn’t have a chance to try. Catra flung him from the tree with a shout, and Adora pinned him to the ground with ease. He was middle-aged and clearly not a fighter, though he didn’t give up. He clawed at Adora’s arms and tried to knee her in the stomach, but she’d spent years training. A calm came over her - the comfort of maneuvers she had done time and time again. She pressed her knee into his stomach, and he gasped. Catra smirked down from the branches.

Suddenly, there was movement and shouting all around them. A woman dropped down from a tree a few yards away and started to run. A teenage girl and her brother came rushing toward Adora.

 _That’s cute_ , thought Catra, as she flew from the treetop toward the siblings.

She cut them off at the knees, and they both slammed into the dirt, their eyes wide and teeth rattling as they gazed up at their assailant. This is what she’d been waiting for, and the rush she felt was even better than she expected. Training was a set of controlled stakes, carefully crafted by her superiors to teach her something new, but Catra already knew everything she needed to know. Glaring down at the villagers before her, blood pumping in her ears, she knew that she was _good_ \- better than anyone else in this whole damn army.

Except for Adora.

Adora grunted and ducked when another villager came rushing toward her, swinging a hunk of wood like a club. She could see Catra’s legs a few feet away, see the muscles tense as she prepared to spring, and she spared a quick glance up at her best friend’s expression. A grin cut across Catra’s face, and Adora’s stomach squirmed. When Catra was excited like this, she tended to get reckless. 

“Be careful-” Adora began, but her words faltered when she heard a cry from several yards away.

Adora whirled to see Lonnie struggling to fend off three women wielding a variety of makeshift weapons, including a wooden stick covered in nails. 

_No! Leave her alone!_

Adora let out a war cry and leapt onto the back of one of the women. Lonnie let out a shout to match as she smashed her bracers into the wrists of the remaining two. They both gasped as their weapons flew from their hands and tumbled across the forest floor. Lonnie smirked. These people were nothing against her company.

Meanwhile, Adora struggled with her captive, the latter digging her nails into the sleeve of Adora’s uniform and biting down onto the young captain’s arm, hard. Adora grit her teeth and let out another cry.

“Hyaaaa!”

She leaned back, lifted the woman off her feet, and swung her into the dirt, where she continued to struggle for a few more seconds before a blast of heat washed over all of them. Everything was suddenly very still. Leaves burned and disintegrated off the branches above as the villagers fell silent.

“Good,” Catra purred, a flame lit in her hand, Rogelio beside her wielding fire of his own, “We just want to talk.”

There was a crunch, and Catra shot her hand out to the left, an arc of flame flying toward a girl who tried to crawl away. The fire flew an inch over her head and slammed into a tree, setting the whole trunk alight. She fell still, sweat trickling down her face, her eyes wide and trained on Catra. The firebender smirked.

“Catra,” Adora began, rising to her feet, “That’s enough-”

_Whoosh!_

An arrow shot past Adora’s head, grazing her jaw as it sailed toward Catra. Rogelio reached out and engulfed it in flame, the ashes blowing away in the breeze as Catra stood stock still in surprise. And then another arrow zoomed past, and another, and the villagers leapt into action again. 

“Find the archer!” Adora shouted.

* * *

When Bow and Glimmer finally made it to the top of the cliff, they found themselves at the foot of a forest. They slowly made their way through the trees, hoping to find a good place to lay low and collect information. It was just their luck that it was crawling with Fire Nation soldiers, and they couldn’t get any closer to the village. Just when they decided to turn back and come up with a plan from the safety of the cliffside, there was a shout, and then all hell broke loose.

It was hard to keep up with all the movement before them, and seeing the Fire Nation army in action brought forth all of the self-doubt they had carried with them on their journey to the island. But when the firebender attacked the fleeing girl, there was only one thing Bow could do. He drew back his bowstring, and let the arrows fly.

But, maybe that hadn’t been such a good idea after all.

“Run!” Glimmer screeched as four Fire Nation soldiers came careening toward them.

Bow darted off to the left, and Glimmer dove to the right, crouching low and racing toward the nearest tree for cover. Water. She needed water. The ocean was close, she could feel it, but, try as she might, she could not command it. She kept running, darting from tree to tree, trying to shake the two soldiers who were following her. 

_This is bad_ , she thought, _Really bad._

Then she saw a shimmer out of the corner of her eye. A puddle. Water. She stepped out from behind her tree and screamed, leaping back as a ball of fire flashed past her, singeing a few loose hairs. She turned to see the firebender who had threatened the village girl swaggering toward her, a smirk on her lips and flames in both hands. Glimmer clenched her fists.

This was the kind of person who killed her father. The firebender couldn’t have been much older than Glimmer herself, but she carried herself with a confidence that Glimmer had never felt wielding her own element. She was a trained fighter, ready to kill without hesitation. She knew exactly what she was doing, throwing the fire between her hands now, letting the flames run between her fingers.

Glimmer wanted that. As much as she hated to admit it, she envied this enemy soldier, raised from birth with her talent nurtured, with hundreds around ready to teach her. Glimmer didn’t have that. 

_And it’s because of the Fire Nation,_ Glimmer thought, narrowing her eyes.

The firebender raised a hand, and Glimmer slammed a foot into the ground. She would not lose. She didn’t have the teachers this girl did, but she was the daughter of the chief of the Southern Water Tribe! Glimmer pushed her hands back and swung them forward with all her might.

“Yaaaaaaaa!” she cried out, as a fireball came flying toward her.

There was an awful hiss as water slammed against fire and steam filled the air between them. Catra jumped in surprise. A waterbender? Here? Glimmer turned in a circle, sweeping water from the puddle behind her up into a ribbon around her. Sweat hung off her eyelashes and stung her eyes. Catra brought her arms up as the water smacked against her armor. She snickered.

“Is that all you’ve got?” she asked, “That was pathetic! I barely felt anything!”

Glimmer stood panting, a tickle of fear beginning deep in her belly. But she wouldn’t go down that easily. Already she began to pull the water back toward her, grasping in desperation.

Meanwhile, Bow was doing his best to evade Adora, but she was fast. Much faster than him. He shot an arrow toward her, but she flung herself to the side and rolled across the dirt, coming back up on her feet and continuing her charge toward him. He wheeled backward, banging into the trunk of a tree and yelping as Adora took a swing at him, her fist racing toward his face. Bow skirted around the curve of the tree, just barely dodging the hit. Adora’s knuckles dug into the bark of the tree, blood welling up as slivers of wood cut into her skin.

“Drop your weapon!” she shouted.

“No way!”

Bow turned and made a break for it, eyes darting across the forest around him. Where was Glimmer? The smell of burning wood filled the air and thick smoke burned his lungs as he ran. Some of the villagers were still fighting, but most had been rounded up by the soldiers and subdued, kneeling with their hands tied. A few fled deeper into the forest, but Bow doubted they would make it far before being captured. 

He needed to find Glimmer-

_Crack!_

“Aghh!” Bow cried out, doubling over and gripping his ribs.

Adora had caught up and slammed her elbow into his side as she came up behind him. Bow reeled back, the clear sky coming into view overhead. They had made it to the edge of the forest by the cliffside, thirty feet east of where he and Glimmer had come up. He came down hard onto his backside, a foot from the edge of the cliff. Adora stalked toward him, and he held up his bow pressing it against her chest as she tried to lean down and grab him. 

Glimmer ran. She was breathing heavy, and she could no longer call the water up around her. She’d given it her all, and she hadn’t so much as scratched the firebender. The crazy firebender, who was now chasing her. She needed to find Bow. They needed to leave. Her mother was right. She wasn’t ready for this.

“Run all you can!” Catra called out, “You won’t outrun me!”

Glimmer burst out from the tree cover. There was Bow, inches from the edge and grappling with one of the soldiers. 

“Bow!”

“Glimmer! Run!”

“Adora!” Catra called out, stepping out onto the rocks a few yards behind Glimmer, “They’re from the Rebellion!”

“What?” Adora said, narrowing her eyes at Bow as she pushed down against his bow, “Is that true?”

“This one’s a waterbender!” Catra shouted then laughed, “But a really _bad_ one!”

“Yes,” Bow said through his grit teeth, “And we won’t let you get away with hurting these people!”

“Finish him off, Adora!” Catra shouted.

Adora stared down at Bow. A member of the Rebellion. The greatest enemy to the peace the Fire Nation was bringing to the world. They were the reason the war still raged on, the reason soldiers were sent to their deaths. Catra was right. She should finish him. Adora reached for one of her swords. She wrapped her fingers around the hilt. It would be quick at this angle. It would be easy.

She gripped the hilt. It would be easy. But . . .

“AHHHHHHHHHHH!” 

Glimmer let out a primal shriek and sprinted across the rocks. She rammed her shoulder into Adora’s back, putting all of her weight into the blow. Catra’s eyes went wide as she watched them tumble over the cliffside.

“ADORAAAAAAAA!”

Adora thought she heard a scream, but the wind carried the sound away as she plummeted down, the air whipping through her hair and pulling it free. Glimmer reached for Bow, and he reached for her. They gripped each other tightly as they fell toward the rocks and water.

Adora squeezed her eyes shut, curling into herself as she barreled toward the earth like a comet.


	3. Book 1: Water - Cycle Unbroken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for continuing to read everyone! I'm very happy with how this particular chapter came out, so please let me know what you think!

Bow leaned against the smoothcut stone wall and grimaced, a hand on his ribcage. There was already a nasty bruise forming where the Fire Nation soldier had rammed her elbow against him, and crashing a couple of hundred feet through the open air certainly hadn’t helped anything. He still couldn’t believe they were alive. Just when he was sure they would be dashed against the cliffside, a geyser of water had burst up through the rocks and broken their fall. They’d still hit the rocks pretty hard and rolled several yards over the rough ground, but they were in one piece. Mostly.

Glimmer nursed a nasty cut on her forearm, wrapping a strip of cloth ripped from the edge of her tunic tightly around it. She sat up against the wall beside Bow, too exhausted to stand. It had taken the last of her energy to break their fall with the water. 

“Thanks,” Bow said after several minutes of silence, “For saving me.”

“I pushed you off a cliff, Bow.”

“Well . . . you did warn me while we were climbing the wall.”

Glimmer smiled. It was tiny, but that was all Bow was hoping for. He sunk down to the ground slowly, one hand still on his side. He winced as he hit the ground. Glimmer looked at him, concern in her bright eyes.

“I’ll be fine,” he said, “I think.”

“Mom never taught me how to heal,” Glimmer murmured, “She taught me barely  _ anything _ . I was  _ nothing _ against that firebender.”

“Hey, you weren’t nothing. You got away from her, so you must’ve stood your ground! And you saved us both, even if it was kind of a stupid, crazy thing to do.”

“It was  _ really _ stupid and crazy!”

“Yeah. It was,” Bow paused, “But if you hadn’t, that soldier would’ve skewered me on her sword.”

Glimmer furrowed her brow.

“I don’t know about that.”

“Huh?”

“She hesitated. That’s when I decided to push you - before she could change her mind.”

“I didn’t really notice. I was too afraid that I was about to die.”

They sat in silence again, Glimmer cradling her arm and holding pressure against the wound. Bow winced with every breath he took, a sharp pain pulsing from his side each time. One of his ribs was definitely cracked. It wasn’t the worst injury, and that girl’s bare fist wasn’t enough to knock the bone out of place, but boy did it  _ hurt _ .

“What happened to her?” he asked after a while.

“I don’t know,” Glimmer said, “And I don’t care.”

“You said she was hesitating. Maybe . . . Maybe she’s not like the other Fire Nation soldiers.”

“Bow, she was holding you over the edge of a cliff!”

“Yeah, and  _ you _ pushed me off of it! I’m just saying . . . people aren’t always what they appear to be on the surface.”

“Maybe you’re right. But that doesn’t change the fact that I don’t know where she is. I only caught us with the geyser.”

“Do you think she’s . . .”

Glimmer swallowed. It had been gnawing on her, the thought that she’d killed somebody. She hated to hear Bow ask it. But there was something in her gut that, despite the anxiety, told her the other girl was still alive. 

“I don’t think she fell all the way down.”

She gestured to the walls around them, clearly carved by people years and years ago, like the ones surrounding the path they had taken up the cliff. 

“There’s way more tunnels like these carved into the cliffside than we could see.”

Bow nodded, his gaze wandering around them. This path was much wider than the one they had trekked, and just a few feet to the right was a wide open space with what looked like a small, two-row amphitheater cut down into the rocky floor in a perfect circle. The girl was probably around here somewhere. Or at least . . . her body was.

“We have to find her,” Glimmer said suddenly.

“Huh? I thought you said you didn’t care what happened to her?”

“That was before I realized she might come looking for  _ us _ . We need to find her first..”

“Glimmer, we need to  _ leave _ . We’re lucky to be  _ alive! _ ”

“I know! But I can’t let this be for nothing! We’ll bring her back to Mom for questioning.”

“I didn’t agree to taking hostages, Glimmer! What makes us any better than them if we do that?”

“This is a  _ war _ , Bow! We’re not going to torture her, but we need information, and she might have it! Besides, she might already be searching for us, waiting to catch us with our guard down. She’s a trained soldier, remember?”

Bow bit his lip. He knew she had a point - it would be dangerous to assume the girl would just let them walk away. But he wasn’t keen on taking a hostage. It  _ was _ war, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. He shakily rose to his feet.

“Okay,” he said, “But let’s try talking to her first. If we can get what we need  _ without _ taking her hostage, then we should.”

“Fine,” Glimmer said, slowly pushing herself to her feet with a wince, “Let’s go.”

* * *

Adora’s head was killing her. And her shoulders. Her knees. Her everything. With a groan, she opened her eyes. Her mouth felt like it was stuffed full of cotton, and her tongue was painfully swollen. She’d bitten it on the way down. She lay with her cheek against cool, smooth stone. It was darker than she expected, and as her vision grew sharper, she realized that she lay in the center of a large shadow.

She gingerly turned her head the other way. Before her rose a massive doorway set directly into the rocky cliffside, flanked on either side by a man and woman, both twenty feet tall and carved out of the rock. They wore robes in a style that Adora didn’t recognize, but something about their faces was eerie, like she’d seen them somewhere before. And yet - they didn’t seem to be anyone in particular; their features were so generic that they could have been anybody. 

One of the doors stood cracked open.

She took stock of her body. She was pretty sure nothing was actually broken, though how she managed that was a mystery. But give it a few hours, and she would be covered in one giant bruise. It didn’t feel like she’d hit her head, and she gingerly lifted her neck and pushed herself onto her knees. It hurt, but it wasn’t unbearable. Rising slowly to her feet, Adora stumbled toward the doorway.

It would be bad if the warriors from the Water Tribe found her like this; she needed to hide. She put a hand on the smooth stone of the door and pushed her way inside. She hadn’t learned anything about a society in these cliffs, but it seemed that whoever used to live here had abandoned it long, long ago. The entrance led into a large chamber, supported by columns that were covered in carvings from top to bottom. 

Adora approached one and put a hand against it, tracing the lines of the image. Light filtered into the room through slits that were cut into the ceiling and upper walls. As she pulled a finger along the crevice, Adora saw that the column was covered in depictions of flowing water. She hobbled to the next column and found that one depicted large crags of earth. 

“The four elements . . .” she murmured.

As she suspected, the next column depicted leaping flames, and then finally she stood before carvings of the dancing winds. She ran a finger through the loop of a wind gust and frowned. 

_ What is this place? _

Adora kept walking, crossing the length of the room and coming to another doorway, smaller than the last, but still a good ten-feet tall. Both doors were pushed inward, leaving two feet of space between them. Adora stepped closer and stuck her head through the gap, squinting into the darkness. After a few minutes her eyes adjusted, and she could make out the faint light that came in through a carved hole in the ceiling.

She put a foot into the room, then paused. The same feeling of recognition she’d had when looking at the statues outside washed over her. It was like a voice in the back of her mind was speaking, but she couldn’t make out the words. 

“I’ve never been here before,” she said aloud, her voice echoing into the room beyond.

“Are you sure?”

Adora whipped around.

“Who said that?!”

The room behind her was empty. Dust flitted to and fro in the beams of light. The only footprints were her own. Adora shuddered and backed away from the doors. She would find another place to hide. She turned her back on the dark room.

“Holy iguana-cow, Glimmer! Do you  _ see _ this?” 

The voice bounced through the air around Adora, and she saw a shadow cross the chamber’s threshold.

_ Shit _ .

Adora turned and slid through the gap in the doors. She pushed herself up against the wall in the darkness, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the dim light once more. She could hear footsteps echoing through the entrance hall. 

“Bow, look! Footprints.”

Adora cursed herself for being so careless. She began to shuffle deeper into the room, her back against the wall, staying out of the light that peeked in through the ceiling. She spared a glance upward and saw that rock covered most of the opening. No way out. She felt the wall curve as she shuffled, and then her hand pushed back into open air. A hallway. She could hear her pursuers fast approaching and decided that a creepy, abandoned temple was better than a fight she had no hope of winning.

She turned and raced down the hallway, one arm stretched out in front of her and the other out to her right. Her fingers brushed the wall as she ran. There was no light here, and she could only find her way by touch. And then the wall fell away, and her foot caught on something and she fell forward, choking down a yelp as she twisted to land on her back. The impact when she hit the ground knocked the wind clear out of her lungs, and she lay there gasping in pain for several moments. 

“You’re almost there, dearie.”

Adora sat bolt upright.

“Who’s there?” she demanded.

But she could feel it in the air of this new room. The only thing breathing was her. 

_ Maybe it’s not alive. _

Adora sucked in a breath.

“Are you a spirit?” she whispered.

She knew a little bit about spirits and their world; she’d learned of the Fire Sages and other spiritual servants of the Fire Lord in school. Her mother had even told her a few stories. But most people at home didn’t put much stock into it, so while Adora knew it was  _ technically _ true that spirits existed, she hadn’t really  _ believed _ it . . .

“Look harder, dearie. You have to look harder.”

“Look . . . Look for what?”

“For you, of course! You’re always so silly, Mara.”

_ Mara? _

Where had she heard that name before? Adora slowly crept to her feet and turned to face the room. It was too dark to see anything. But that creeping sensation of familiarity had returned, and Adora’s feet began to carry her to the right, through an unseen archway into another tunnel. She could feel the walls on either side again.

_ It’s ahead, to the left, _ she thought.

She froze.

_ What’s up ahead? _

“Spirit,” she said, her voice echoing, “Where am I going?”

“You’re so silly, Mara. You know exactly where you are going.”

“But I don’t! I . . . I’ve never been here before! Why do I know where I’m going, if I’ve never been here before?! Where am I  _ going _ ?!”

“You’re on your way to you.”

“That doesn’t make any  _ sense! _ ”

“I think I heard something down here, Glimmer!”

Adora looked over her shoulder and saw a faint flicker of torchlight. She had to keep going. Her legs began to move again, carrying her without much input from her brain as she continued down the hallway. She came to a fork. She turned left. 

As she stepped forward, a pressure began to build at the base of her skull. She reached back to massage her neck, but it did nothing to relieve it. It spread up through the back of her head and across the sides, like hands wrapping around. The fingers began to dig into the bone just above her eyebrows when she stepped out into an alcove, and the pressure disappeared. 

Before her stood a shrine. It was the only thing in the tiny room. A beam of light from a skylight spread across it, casting the rest of the room into shadow. A circle with four points was carved into the wall behind the shrine platform. At each point, one of the four elements exploded out from the circle. Water. Earth. Fire. Air.

On the platform itself sat a statue. Adora could not tell if it was a man or a woman because it had no face, just blank, smooth stone where a face would be. It wore robes, but not in any style she had ever seen, and it sat cross-legged, with its hands cupped together in its lap, palms facing upward. The head was bent slightly forward. 

An empty tray sat in front of the statue, full only of dust, but Adora thought she could smell the faintest hint of incense. Beside it was a small bowl of clear water.

“Who are you . . .” she whispered to the statue.

She heard the words of the ghostly voice echo through her mind again. 

“Look for what?”

“For you, of course!”

Adora took a step closer to the shrine, then dropped down onto her knees. 

“Do I know you?” she asked.

The statue didn’t answer. Adora examined it for another moment, then crossed her legs, and folded her hands into her lap. She dipped her head forward, and she closed her eyes.

There was something here. The voice in her head was getting louder and louder. There was something important. Something she needed to remember.

Mara. That was the name of the last Avatar. The one who had ended the cycle. The Fire Nation had driven her and her followers underground, and then, when she launched her last attack, they had killed her. A new Avatar was never born, and Fire Lord Hordack’s grandfather, Fire Lord Prime, was celebrated for defeating the Fire Nation’s greatest enemy. And for defeating the nation’s greatest traitor, as Mara had been a citizen of the Fire Nation.

“Mara,” Adora whispered, opening her eyes and looking at the statue once more.

“Are you Mara?”

A shudder ran up Adora’s spine, as the name seemed to hang just a little too long in the air, and echo a few too many times in the tiny space. 

Mara. Mara. Mara . . . Ma . . . ra . . .

“You’re on your way to you!”

Adora swallowed.

“Are you . . .” she whispered, bowing her head once more and squeezing her eyes shut. 

“Are you . . . “

“Me?”

Me. Me. Me. Me . . .

There was a burst of light, and suddenly Adora could see nothing but white. It wasn’t scary though - actually, it was the strongest she had ever felt. An intense energy coursed through her veins, and the world seemed to rotate ninety-degrees and lock into place. She had the faintest sense that she was floating, but nothing looked like it had moments ago. 

She could see both the shrine a few feet below her, and a deep pond surrounded by marshes, with a single ripple dancing out from its center. The walls were both the carved stone of a bygone civilization and dense thickets of trees and swinging vines. Both images were real, somehow. 

She heard voices, but they were muddy and garbled, like sound traveling through water. Wind whipped around her, and she smiled. She liked to play with the winds, to soar through the skies and leap from place to place like she weighed nothing at all. Water rose up from the bowl on the shrine and wove itself around her. A sense of calm settled over her, as she watched it ebb and flow. Stones detached themselves from the floor and swirled around her, and she took comfort in how the centuries had not changed them. And then, from her fingertips, came fire. It engulfed her, warmed her whole body, and she let out a contented sigh.

And just as quickly as it had shifted into place, the world ticked back ninety-degrees, and Adora opened her eyes and found that she was lying on the floor. 

She raised her head, and met the wide eyes of the Water Tribe warriors. One was holding an arrow, its head coated in some kind of oil and set alight to form a makeshift torch. 

_ They’re only my age, _ she thought. 

What were they staring at? Why weren’t they tying her up, or holding a weapon to her throat? She saw the girl was shaking.

“Who . . .” the girl whispered, “Who are you?”

“I . . .” Adora stared at her, “I don’t know.”

The boy sucked in a sharp breath. 

“You’re the Avatar.”

Avatar. Avatar. Ava . . . tar. A . . . va . . . tar . . .

* * *

Catra prowled the crowd of villagers who knelt on the beach before Commander Octavia. She grabbed the shoulder of a boy who fidgeted as she walked by, digging her nails into his skin. He froze, fear in his eyes as he stared straight ahead at the horizon.

Commander Octavia had not let her go after Adora. 

“We’ll send a search party out later,” she’d said, and threatened to have Catra locked up for insubordination when Catra argued.

Octavia didn’t care about Adora; all she cared about was wringing the truth out of these stupid villagers. Catra ground her teeth. What good was her first military triumph if Adora wasn’t here to celebrate it with her? Octavia probably assumed she was dead.

Catra knew differently though. There was no way her best friend would go down so easily. But even if she was alive, she could be badly wounded. She should be there to help her! Catra kicked up a sheet of sand as she trudged back to the line of soldiers that stood behind the villagers.

“You all have been found guilty of collaborating with the Rebellion,” Octavia announced, “We came to investigate this as a rumor, but the rebel warriors from the Water Tribe were undeniable proof.”

“We’ve got no idea who those two were!” an elderly woman called out, her chin raised and back perfectly straight.

“I find that very hard to believe,” Octavia sneered, “And even if  _ you _ didn’t,  _ somebody _ here has been colluding with the Rebellion. If that person or people would like to step forward now, maybe we can offer some mercy.”

Nobody moved. Catra had to admit, however begrudgingly, that these people had steel in their bones. They were exactly the way she’d heard the people of the Earth Kingdom described. Hardy, unmovable, stubborn . . . to the point of stupidity. They were certainly being stupid now, not to give up the collaborators.

“Fine, then,” Octavia said, “Catra!”

Catra jumped. 

“Yes, Commander?”

“Captain Adora was a friend of yours. These people are the reason she’s missing, and they refuse to admit to their treachery against our great nation. What do you suggest we do with them?”

“You’re . . . letting me decide?”

“You did well in the woods, and several of the soldiers speak highly of your accomplishments.”

Catra’s eyes widened. She caught a glance from Kyle, who gave her a stupid, lopsided smile and a thumbs up from Lonnie’s side. 

This was a peace offering from Octavia, above all else, Catra knew that. She didn’t want anyone smearing her name back home, even a lowly cadet. And Catra realized, deep down, that Octavia must be worried about Adora as well. Not because she  _ actually _ cared about her personally, but because she worried what General Shadow Weaver might do, if she learned her precious daughter had gone missing on such a simple mission.

Even now, Catra was only really being recognized for her relationship to Adora, but it was recognition all the same, and she would take it. She would take and take, until she clawed her way to the top and sat across from Shadow Weaver at the war table. Maybe then the War Minister would finally draw herself up with pride and brag about how successful  _ both _ of her daughters were.

_ But you’re not her daughter. _

Catra grit her teeth. 

_ You’re just the family pet. _

She heard that her whole life; whispered by the aristocrats and shouted by their children. Adora always came running, ready to throw punches on her behalf and hold her hand while she cried. It pissed her off just thinking about it. Her teeth crunched as she ground them together, her eyes sweeping across the people kneeling on the beach. She wasn’t weak. She would show them. She would show  _ all _ of them.

“Well, Commander,” she said, bringing her hand up and into a fist, setting it aflame, “I can think of a few things we could do.”

* * *

Adora sat against a rock that had been warmed by the sun, squinting into the daylight. She sat just outside of the ancient temple, the boy and girl from the Water Tribe both cross-legged in front of her.

“You  _ are _ the Avatar, though!” the boy -  _ Bow _ , she remembered - exclaimed.

“I  _ can’t _ be!” Adora said, massaging her temples, the bright light boring a hole into her head, “I’m not even a  _ firebender! _ ”

“Well you sure bent fire in there!” the girl,  _ Glimmer _ , said, pointing to the temple doors, “And, uh, earth,  _ and _ air,  _ and _ WATER!”

“I don’t  _ remember _ that!” Adora exclaimed.

“Well, you did! You were floating and all the elements were swirling around you and your eyes were  _ glowing _ !” Bow said, a bit of awe creeping into his voice, “I’ll be honest - it was really cool.”

“Look,” Adora said, rubbing her eyes and leaning forward, “I am from the Fire Nation. The Avatar would have to be an Air Nomad! And like I said - I can’t even  _ bend _ !”

“Are you sure?” Glimmer demanded.

“What? Of course I’m sure! I think I would’ve noticed if I could bend.”

“Try it.”

“Try- This is ridiculous. I can’t try it because I don’t know how to  _ do _ it!”

“Look, look!” Bow said, holding up a stone, “Levitate this!”

“I  _ can’t! _ ”

“Will you just  _ try _ ? Please?” Bow’s eyes grew wide, and he bit his lip, and just looked so absolutely pathetic that Adora let out a groan and said,

“FINE!”

She snatched the rock from his hand and stared at it. Glimmer and Bow leaned forward, staring at the rock. They all sat still for several minutes, eyes boring into the stone. But it didn’t move an inch. Adora tossed it aside.

“See?”

“You weren’t really trying,” Glimmer snapped.

“What is  _ with _ you? You’re both just  _ crazy! _ ”

“Maybe you’re just not good at earth,” Bow said, “Here, try water!”

He held out his waterskin. Adora groaned and took it. She uncorked it and stared down into the water for a moment. What was she supposed to do? She had no idea how to bend. Did you just . . . wiggle your fingers and it happened? She held her hand over the opening and did just that, but the water didn’t move. She handed the waterskin back with a shrug. 

Glimmer let out a relieved sigh. Of course she knew this girl must be able to bend water, since she  _ was _ the Avatar, but it would’ve hurt all the same if she’d done it naturally, like it was nothing. 

“Oh, oh! You were raised in the Fire Nation! You can probably bend fire, right? You’ve watched tons of people do it!”

“When will you  _ give up _ ?” Adora demanded, but she rose to her feet all the same.

Firebending. She’d always wanted to be able to do it. Watching Catra practice with the other kids while she’d been studying sword combat had been torturous. Once, she’d asked her mother if there was any way for someone who wasn’t born a bender to learn, and Shadow Weaver had placed a hand gently on her head, her silence all the answer Adora needed.

But now the possibility that maybe, just maybe, she had learned to bend despite being born unable . . .

Adora took a step forward, remembering the training sets she’d watched Catra perform again and again, and let out a shout as she punched through the air.

Nothing happened. 

She took another step and punched again, then kicked, but each time there was no fire, not even the barest hint of warmth.

Adora’s shoulders drooped and she sighed.

“See,” she said turning to Glimmer and Bow and holding her arms out, “I told you. I can’t bend.”

“But we saw you . . .” Bow said with a sigh.

Glimmer looked at Adora. The Avatar. The one true hope for the world. She had never in her wildest dreams considered that the Avatar might be out there somewhere. She certainly hadn’t considered that the Avatar was a soldier from the  _ Fire Nation _ . It didn’t make sense, after all; the Avatar was supposed to be an Air Nomad.

“Air,” Glimmer said.

“Huh?”

“Try to air bend.  _ Really _ try.”

“But . . . How? I don’t know  _ anything _ about airbenders. They all died, like, sixty years ago.”

“That’s not true! My dad . . . My dad was an airbender,” Glimmer said, taking a shaky breath, “He used to tell me that airbending was like . . . was like laughing at a funny joke. Or chasing a bird through a forest. Or racing penguins across the snow. He was always trying to make me and my mom laugh - like he could blow all of our troubles away. . .”

Adora looked into Glimmer’s eyes, saw the light shining off of them. She talked about her dad the way Lonnie talked about her sister who had died in combat. A reverence for the person they were, and a sadness that they would stay that person forever. Her father hadn’t died sixty years ago - but he had died.

Adora took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Like laughing at a funny joke . . . She tried to think of the last time she laughed. It was just yesterday, when Catra had worn an old, dented helmet backwards and imitated one of their training captains back at home. Everything felt right then; she and her best friend, on their way to their first mission, their dreams finally laid out ahead of them for the taking.

She bent her knees and leapt, sweeping her arms up on either side of her, and let out a shriek as she hurtled fifteen feet into the air. Bow and Glimmer yelped and raced forward, diving beneath her as she plummeted to the earth, landing in their arms and knocking all three of them to the ground.

“Well,” Bow said from beneath Glimmer and Adora, “You can airbend.”

“But . . .  _ HOW? _ ” Adora shouted, leaping to her feet, “None of this makes any sense!”

“Because you’re the  _ Avatar _ !” Glimmer said, clambering up, “Are you sure one of your parents wasn’t an airbender?”

“I . . . Yes . . . Yes I’m sure!”

“You hesitated,” Bow said from the ground.

Adora rubbed the back of her neck.

“Well . . . I am adopted . . .”

“That proves it then!” Glimmer exclaimed.

“No it doesn’t! I was adopted from a  _ Fire Nation _ colony! My parents were from the Fire Nation! They got killed in a raid from the Earth Kingdom army while my mother was stationed there with her troops, so she adopted me!”

“Well,  _ somehow _ you are an airbender,” Glimmer took a step closer to Adora and put a hand on her shoulder, “And you  _ are _ the Avatar. Bow and I know what we saw. You . . . You were  _ glowing _ , and you were bending  _ all  _ the elements. You saw that temple; it was clearly devoted to the Avatar. You’re a spiritual bridge - you must’ve connected with your past lives in there.”

“But . . . How can that be? Until today, I couldn’t bend anything. How could I be the Avatar and not be able to bend my own element?”

Glimmer bit her lip. She had no explanation, but what she did have was a familiar sensation ballooning up from the base of her stomach into her chest. The same feeling she got when she woke up and found her mother was still at home, tending the fire. The same feeling when she and Bow were about to call it quits for the evening, and a lone snow-leopard caribou stepped into the open. The same feeling when she heard that their rebels had looted a Fire Nation ship, had evacuated a village before its demise, had stolen critical Fire Nation intelligence.

Hope.

“I don’t know, but we know what we saw. And you know it too.”

Adora did know it. As much as she argued, she knew something had changed inside of her, and while the elements wouldn’t bend to her will, yet, she had felt it at the shrine. She couldn’t remember what she saw, but she remembered the feeling. The energy, the euphoria, the peace. All the world balanced perfectly on a pin for one fleeting moment.

“If I am the Avatar . . .” Adora whispered, “What do I do now?”

“You restore balance to the world,” Bow said, standing up and joining Glimmer at Adora’s side.

“I’ve  _ been _ doing that,” Adora said, “With the Fire Nation.”

Bow raised an eyebrow.

“Do you really think  _ that’s _ what you’ve been doing?” Glimmer said, incredulous.

Adora stepped away and crossed her arms, shifted her weight from foot to foot. She looked down at the ground.

“Well, yeah. The Fire Nation has been trying for a century now to bring the world together. . .”

“World domination is  _ not _ the same thing as ‘bringing the world together,’” Glimmer snapped.

“It’s not world domination! Fire Lord Hordack is trying to spread enlightenment to the rest of the nations! We want to share our technology and innovation with everybody, but the  _ Rebellion _ keeps inciting violence!”

Bow and Glimmer stared at her. Adora looked away again and started fiddling with the tie around her waist, tightening the already tight knot. 

“You- You really believe that, don’t you?” Bow asked, his mouth hanging slightly open.

Of course she did. It was what her mother always said, and her commanding officers, and her teachers, and her friends, and everyone else at home . . .

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Because it’s a lie, Adora,” Glimmer said, “I don’t know what you’ve been taught in the Fire Nation, but . . . people don’t  _ want _ the Fire Nation’s ‘enlightenment.’ The Rebellion isn’t inciting violence, it’s trying to protect people. From you.”

“I don’t . . . But everything my mom always said . . .”

“Come on,” Bow said, pointing up a nearby cliffside path, “We’ll show you.”

He led the way along the narrow road, climbing ever higher toward the forest and village. Adora walked between him and Glimmer, continuing to fiddle with the waist-tie on her uniform. Why was she trusting these people, walking alongside them? They were her enemy. 

Weren’t they?

“Hey,” she said, glancing behind her, “How did you know my name?”

“Oh,” Glimmer said, “I heard that firebender girl shout it when we fell off the cliff.”

“Catra . . . She must be worried. . ..”

_ She might think I’m  _ dead.

“Is she your friend?” Bow asked, “You do have friends in the Fire Nation, right?”

“ _ Yes _ we have  _ friendsI _ ” 

Bow shrunk away. This girl was  _ scary _ when she scowled. 

“And Catra . . . Catra’s my best friend.”

Bow glanced back at Glimmer at the same time she glanced at him. It was such a relatable feeling, worrying about one’s best friend. Glimmer swallowed, suddenly struck by the reality that every one of the Fire Nation soldiers she saw today was just as young as she was. They probably all had best friends. They probably all shared secrets with each other, comforted each other, told jokes to each other. 

She had always imagined the Fire Nation army as a mass of tall, faceless adults cloaked in flame and shadow, unrelenting and interchangeable. As stupid as it sounded, she hadn’t been prepared to stand face to face with her enemy and realize they were, you know . . .

_ Human. _

They walked in silence for a bit.

“I’m Bow, by the way,” Bow finally said.

“And I’m Glimmer.”

“I know. You’re both really loud.”

“Oh.”

The sun was setting when they finally crested the cliffside and freed themselves from the most awkward silence any of them had ever endured. Bow led them quietly along the edge of the trees, alert for any sign of traps or Fire Nation soldiers. But there was nothing.

“They all must be at the village,” Glimmer murmured as they followed the treeline. 

The sunset grew brighter, and redder, and it was only when the smoke stung their eyes that Glimmer realized it was not the sunset she was looking at. They crossed through several yards of forest and emerged at the top of the hill leading down to the village. 

Before them, everything was on fire. The lone trees, the houses, the wagons. A thick cloud of smoke swirled above the village, and people screamed and cried as fire flew threw the air, engulfing more and more homes in orange flames. A little girl screamed as she lay on the ground in the center of town with one of her braids on fire. A soldier held her arms behind her back as the flame crept ever closer to her scalp. He stamped it out with his boot just before it could lick against her face, the smell of burning hair spreading on the wind with the screams. Then he lit the other braid on fire.

Adora’s stomach dropped out from under her. 

“See,” Glimmer whispered, tears in her eyes, “ _ This  _ is your enlightened nation.”


	4. Book 1: Water - Changing Tides

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year, everyone!

Catra stalked through the village, surveying the chaos around her with hungry eyes. The company’s first deployment was a success, and it was all thanks to her. Well, her and Adora. Who was still missing. Catra chewed her lip as she watched a soldier haul a family’s belongings out of their home and begin sifting through it.

She could go looking for her soon, right?

She snarled as she watched a man latch onto Lonnie’s back and try to wrench her away from his house. It was because these villagers wouldn’t cooperate that she couldn’t go searching for Adora. Catra bared her teeth and stomped up to the man tussling with Lonnie. She grabbed his shoulders and yanked him down onto the ground, leaning over him and snarling out,

“I wouldn’t get in our way, if I were you.”

She held out a hand and lit a flame, lowering it until it was an inch from his nose, and she could see the flame reflected in his wide eyes. Sweat beaded on his brow.

“Thanks, Catra,” Lonnie said, darting into the house to dig for weapons and valuables.

Catra released the man and watched as he scrambled through the dirt, narrowly avoiding a group of soldiers who tramped by, their arms full of food, money, and cloth. Anything that could be a resource to the rebellion was brought to the beach where they could burn it all once the villagers were in line.

“Catra!” Commander Octavia called out, striding toward her with her arms tucked neatly behind her back and her chin raised, “Good work organizing the troops.”

Catra blinked then quickly saluted.

“Oh! Thanks, Commander!”

Octavia put a hand on her shoulder.

“I’ll be honest - I didn’t like you while you were in training, kid. But it seems like some of Captain Adora’s talent rubbed off on you.”

Catra forced a smile and tried to quell the anger and indignation rising in her throat.

“Once we finish here, you’ll lead a small search party for our missing captain.”

“Thank you, Commander. I already know who I’ll bring.”

Octavia nodded and turned without another word, making her way back toward the beach with an air of serenity that was wholly misplaced amongst the destruction they had wrought. Catra straightened and folded her arms behind her back, mirroring the Commander. If she looked the part, maybe people would actually take her seriously. That thought made her grind her teeth; her actions in combat should speak loud enough on their own, no matter how she carried herself.

She took a deep breath.

_Keep it together. For Adora._

She resumed her patrol, barely looking at the villagers who crouched on the ground at her feet, wailing as their livelihoods went up in flames.

As she passed a building that hadn’t yet been set alight, she held out her arm and flicked a spark onto the thatched roof, smirking as the fire raced across the straw, a new column of smoke joining the others that stretched toward the evening sky. Catra relished this. Training bored her the last couple of years, and she’d actually started to worry if she would even like military service.

But this. This was exciting. Her blood warmed her face, and a thrill ran up her spine every time someone tried to rush her. It was easy, but it was fun. And she finally got to use her firebending to its full potential, got to use it for its _real_ purpose. She turned and loosed a flame at what remained of a barn, and grinned as it collapsed completely, a shower of sparks flying into the air as the wood hit the earth.

It felt good to be powerful. There was only one thing - one person - missing.

 _Damn it, Adora_.

They hadn’t come this far together only to be separated _now_ , at the moment of triumph. Commander Octavia probably wouldn’t even notice if she slipped away. She didn’t need Lonnie or Rogelio, and she certainly didn’t need _Kyle_. She crouched low, cast her gaze around for any prying eyes, and crept toward the path that led up to the forest.

* * *

Adora stared at the flames and the smoke with wide eyes, her mouth slightly agape. Why were they doing this? It was a small village of farmers, fishers, and weavers. All they had to do was set up a post and patrol the waters! So why . . .

“Adora. Hey, Adora.”

Bow shook her gently, and she turned to him and Glimmer.

“Do you see?” Glimmer asked, “This is what the Rebellion is trying to prevent! The Fire Nation isn’t sharing it’s great culture and innovation, it’s . . . it’s destroying _everything_!”

“We need to go,” Bow said, “Before they see us.”

“No!” Adora exclaimed, “I have to talk to them. I’m sure this is . . . I’m sure this is just mis . . . misunderstood orders! I’ll make them see! I’ll fix this!”

She turned without another word and raced down the hill toward the village. Her dao blades banged against her knees in their sheaths.

“Adora, wait!” Glimmer called out, “Bow, what do we do?!”

“I-I don’t know! But we can’t just leave without the Avatar!”

Smoke burned Adora’s lungs as she ran along the path. Everyone looked the same with helmets on from this distance, but still she scanned the crowd desperately for Commander Octavia. Or Rogelio. Or -

“Adora!”

She slid to a halt as Catra came bounding toward her, a wide smile on her face, her helmet slightly askew.

“You’re alright!” Catra exclaimed.

“Catra!” Adora grabbed her best friend’s arms, “What’s going on? Why is everything _burning_?!”

Catra frowned and examined her friend’s head for any bruising.

“Um, why wouldn’t it be? We’re the Fire Nation, remember? Fire’s kind of our thing.”

“B-Because there’s no reason for it! This is a tiny, poor village! There’s not even any _earthbenders_ here!”

“Calm down, Adora. What’s wrong with you? Why are you upset? We’re winning the battle.”

“This shouldn’t have _been_ a battle! Can’t you see that?”

Adora swept her arm across the scene in front of them. The screams and the roar of flames were deafening. But Catra seemed unfazed as her eyes followed Adora’s gesture.

“Um. You know we’re in the military, right? Fighting is our job.”

“Our _job_ is to protect the Fire Nation and spread its glory. We’re just destroying people’s homes for - for nothing!”

“Adora, they’re helping the _Rebellion!_ Our greatest enemies, remember? If you ask me, we’re being nice.”

Adora stared at Catra, sure she was joking. But the eyes that looked back at her held only genuine confusion. She shook her head in disbelief and backed away.

“You just don’t understand,” she said to Catra, “I’m going to put a stop to this!”

She spun and sprinted into the chaos.

“Wait, _Adora!_ ”

But Adora didn’t hear her. She was focused only on reaching the beach. She had to talk to Commander Octavia. Surely something had gone terribly wrong. She yelped as the side of a nearby building fell into the road in front of her, sparks searing the exposed skin on her face. She brought an arm over her eyes and darted around the smoldering remains, narrowly avoiding body-checking another soldier.

It was oppressively hot in her armor, and sweat stung her eyes as it dripped down her forehead. Training with firebenders had done nothing to prepare her for this. She wiped her face and yelped as a woman and her young daughter burst onto the path in front of her. Adora wheeled backwards and fell, staring up into the eyes of the villagers. The mother pulled her daughter tight against her, frozen in fear.

“It’s okay,” Adora gasped, “I won’t-”

But the woman had already seized the opportunity to flee, pulling her daughter along as they pounded across the grass. Adora shoved herself to her feet and started running again, her breaths short and painful as she finally hit the sand and flew across the narrow beach to Commander Octavia, who stood in front of the ship.

“Commander!” she choked out.

“Captain Adora,” Commander Octavia said, eyebrows raised, “You found your way back. After what Catra told me, I figured . . . well, I figured you’d at least have _broken_ something.”

“Commander,” Adora breathed, “What’s going on?”

“We’re taking over the village, Captain. That was our mission, remember? I’ll get a medic to check on you-”

“No! I’m _fine_ ! But, Commander, why are we _destroying_ everything?! I mean weren’t we just supposed to - to set up a guard and keep traders out of the bay?”

“Originally, yes,” Octavia’s speech was slow and deliberate, “But then the people here attacked us.”

“But . . .”

“ _And_ they refused to give up their Rebellion supplier. The Fire Nation cannot tolerate such disobedience.”

“But what if they don’t _know_ ? I mean, what if that person doesn’t even live here most of the time? And- And even if they _do_ know, why does it matter as long as we’re preventing the Rebellion from getting their supplies?”

Commander Octavia furrowed her brow and looked Adora over.

“Captain, why are you so worked up about this? Your soldiers are out there doing good work, defending the Fire Nation from the enemy.”

“I just . . . But weren’t our orders just to patrol-”

“Our orders, Captain, are to protect the Fire Nation, and to show no mercy to those who would try and stop us.”

Commander Octavia sighed and shook her head. She reached out and put a hand on Adora’s shoulder.

“Captain Adora, you don’t need to be so upset. They’re only Earth Kingdom peasants. This is what you’ve _trained_ for.”

Adora yanked her body free and backed away from the commander, who scowled and snapped out,

“Captain-”

Adora turned and ran back toward the village. She dashed past the firebenders who were burning a pile of large carts at the edge of a farm, past the huddle of villagers who sheltered behind barrels, waiting for a chance to run, and past the soldiers counting the money they had collected from the houses. She didn’t stop running until she was almost to the woods, then she turned and stared out across the carnage, panting. She sank to her knees. A tear streaked down her cheek, cutting a line through the soot.

“Adora!”

Glimmer and Bow emerged from the trees.

“Are you okay?” Bow asked, squatting down beside her and putting a hand on her shoulder, “What happened?”

“You were right,” Adora sniffled, “No one . . . No one else thought this was _wrong_. Not even Catra . . .”

They were all silent for a moment. Glimmer clenched her fists as she watched a couple try to flee toward the forest, only to be pulled back, screaming, by two soldiers.

“I have to do something,” Adora whispered.

She looked from Bow to Glimmer.

“Let me fix this. _Please_.”

Glimmer chewed her lip, blood beading up beneath her teeth, and murmured,

“The truth is . . . I don’t know _what_ to do. I mean, I can barely waterbend. And Bow is great with arrows, but . . .”

Bow nodded, a grim expression in his eyes. He thought he’d been preparing for this since he journeyed to the South Pole, but hunting on the tundra with Glimmer was nothing like fighting trained soldiers. He would never be able to shoot fast enough or accurately enough. He ripped up a chunk of grass and crushed it in his palm.

“But,” Adora continued, her voice barely audible, “I’m the Avatar, right? So I . . . I should be able to do . . . something!”

“The Avatar _is_ incredibly powerful,” Glimmer agreed, face lighting up.

“Yeah, but Adora can barely bend anything,” Bow said, “I mean, how does the Avatar awaken that power?”

Silence, again. Adora bent over and rammed her fists into the dirt. What good was finding out you were the Avatar if you couldn’t use it! She didn’t understand. She was born in the Fire Nation colonies. She had never been able to bend anything in her life. The Avatar cycle was supposed to be broken, but now here she was, and there was no one who could help her figure out what she was supposed to do!

“Hey, hey!” Bow said, “We’ll figure something out - like, uhhh . . .”

“You’re a trained soldier,” Glimmer said suddenly, “And your armor - you’re a captain.”

Adora raised her head and nodded. Glimmer dropped to her knees beside her, their faces inches apart. She had not come all this way with Bow to fail now. If they couldn’t win with water and arrows, there _had_ to be another way!

“Then, who cares about the Avatar way right now! You know this army, what can we take advantage of? What can we do?”

 _Her eyes kind of sparkle_ , Adora thought, frozen for a second.

Then she shook her head a little, and took a deep breath. She sat back on her heels, and dug the heels of her hands into her eyes.

“Okay. Okay, okay.”

Things were starting to die down in the village. Most of the houses had been burnt to the ground, the farms ravaged, and the people huddled in the center of it all, surrounded by a guard of soldiers. Those who weren’t guarding the villagers were wandering the ruins, looking for anything else worth taking.

_Think, Adora!_

She had always been better at planning on the fly, reacting to bad situations as they arose and seeing the way out.

 _This_ is _a bad situation,_ she thought, _So find the way out! What do you know about your enemy?_

Enemy. It was like fingers wrapped around her throat. Her friends were her enemy now. She brought a hand down to her neck, just to be sure there was nothing.

_Don’t get distracted. Think. You can be sad later._

“They think they’ve won,” Adora finally said, slowly, “We came with only one company of firebenders and common infantry. It looks like almost everyone is in town, but there may be a few people left on the ship. I saw that all of the village’s supplies were gathered down on the beach. We want to keep that safe - stop them from burning it.”

“How do we do that?” Bow asked, “What would make the Fire Nation army retreat?”

“We’re all new to the field. This is the first deployment for everyone on the ship aside from the Commander and the crewmen. Of those, only the Commander can bend. A small village like this - it’s not worth losing soldiers over . . . I hope.”

“Do you have an idea?” Glimmer asked, leaning closer, eyes boring into Adora’s once more.

_They really do sparkle, kind of like stars._

_Shut up! Focus!_

“If we can trick them into thinking we have more benders, or at least stronger ones, than they do, we might force them to run away. Also, if we target the ship, they’ll be drawn to the beach and try to protect it. This _definitely_ isn’t worth losing a whole ship over. Then we can hit them.”

Glimmer paled and pulled back.

“My bending isn’t strong enough to fight off this whole army!”

Just the thought of how much effort it would take to raise that much water made her dizzy. Oh, why hadn’t her mother ever taught her _more_!

Adora reached out and grabbed her elbow.

“It doesn’t have to be strong - as long as I can . . . can airbend. If we get them to the beach, I can whip up a sandstorm and make it hard to see. Then we just have to make it _look_ like there’s more of us than them, and if we can knock out a few of their benders while they’re distracted, even better.”

“This sounds really dangerous,” Bow said.

But it was also a good idea.

A scream rose up from town, and they all whipped around to look at the circle of soldiers that stood jeering as Commander Octavia pulled a man up from his knees by his hair.

Glimmer clenched her hands into fists, all the hesitation burned from her blood by that one scream.

“Let’s do it,” she said through grit teeth.

* * *

Catra watched Commander Octavia as she questioned the townspeople once more, but she didn’t hear a thing that was said. She scanned the crowd, but Adora was nowhere to be found. Catra hoped she hadn’t gotten herself knocked out somewhere in town - or worse. Catra scowled.

 _What the hell is her_ problem?

This was supposed to be fun! Exciting! They were finally here together. Why couldn’t she just enjoy it? She always had to worry about _something_.

Catra glanced around. Lonnie and Kyle stood on either side of her, the boy’s eyes wide as he watched the commander shake another villager. Lonnie wore a look of cool indifference, but Catra noticed she was staring out at the horizon, rather than taking in the scene in front of them. Catra rolled her eyes.

_Why did they even bother joining the army if they can’t handle this?_

With a quiet sigh, Catra took a step back and slipped out from between her comrades, weaving her way backwards through the circle of soldiers until she popped out behind the crowd. No one turned her way. Finding Adora was more important than this. She turned on her heel and slunk away behind a smoldering building, making her way through the remains of the town, eyes peeled for a poof of blond hair.

She was a few hundred feet away from the rest of the army when she heard the explosion. She whipped her head around as shouts rose up from the soldiers and gasps echoed from the townspeople. Smoke rose up from the hull of the ship, and Catra’s eyes went wide as another blast rang out, a second column of smoke rising into the air.

Catra heard the pounding of footsteps as most of the soldiers raced toward the ship, a handful left standing stiff around the kneeling townsfolk. Commander Octavia led the charge. Catra ran alongside stampede, her teeth bared and eyes fixed on the ship. She was faster than anyone else in her training class, but she was so far away that everyone else made it to the beach a few heartbeats before she did.

And half a beat before she hit the sand, chaos erupted in front of her. A massive gust of wind seemed to rise from the ground itself, whipping sand into her eyes and twisting it around the army like a tornado. Catra gasped and reeled back, coughing as the impossible sandstorm raged before her. People shouted, and then coughed, and yelped in pain as the sand scraped against their eyes.

Catra grit her teeth and dove into the storm. Her skin stung as the sand barrelled into her, but she fought her way forward, looking for the Commander. Something fishy was going on. It was almost impossible to see anything other than swirling sand and the occasional shadow of a person, stumbling blindly, arms outstretched. And then a shadow appeared on the edge of Catra’s vision, and she whirled in time for a wave of water to slap against her and the soldier who had come careening into her airspace.

The force of the water wasn’t particularly intense, but it was disorienting and hit her right in the face. Catra stood still for a moment, coughing up sea water. She heard a yelp to her left and another splash. She tried to follow the sound, occasionally seeing a shadow rise up in her peripheral vision, and leaping to avoid the water. She rammed into two other people, and the three of them tumbled to the ground and slammed against something hard and cold. The hull of the ship.

_More waterbenders?! Where the hell did they come from?!_

Catra slowly rose to her feet, one hand on the ship for balance. Kyle groaned at her feet, a firebender whose name Catra couldn’t bother to remember lying beside him. Catra turned from them and leaned closer to the ship, looking for the damage caused by the explosions, hoping to find a hole she could crawl into to escape the winds momentarily.

She ran her hand along the hull until she felt a rough patch and frowned. Before her was a scorch mark, but beyond the aesthetic damage, there didn’t seem to be any danger to the structural integrity of the ship.

“Not a true explosive,” she murmured, sniffing at the scorch mark and then gagging, “Smells . . . fishy . . .”

Catra’s eyes narrowed, and she tapped her long fingernails against the metal. A trick. This was all a trick. She didn’t know how they were making the storm, but the girl and boy from the Water Tribe were behind this, and they were probably alone. She smirked. This wouldn’t be so hard after all.

She turned and sprinted, shoving anyone she came across mercilessly into the sand at her feet as she went, her gaze fixed straight ahead. With a gasp she broke through the wall of wind and burst out onto the grass just beyond the beach, coughing up the sand that clung to her throat. She wiped her eyes and stood straight, eyes darting all around for any sign of the Water Tribe girl. Her enemy would be keeping to the perimeter of the storm, not getting tangled up inside of it . . .

“It’s working!” she heard the boy say, “Some of them are trying to board the ship!”

She whirled and raced around the edge of the storm, snarling as the boy and waterbender came into view. Their eyes went wide as she collided with them, nails digging into the girl’s arms. Glimmer screamed, and Bow fumbled to notch an arrow. The storm faltered and the wind slowed, until suddenly all of the sand collapsed back onto the beach, leaving at least forty soldiers standing bewildered and coated in a layer of silt. Catra knelt over Glimmer, blood welling up under her fingertips as she smirked at the waterbender.

“Nice try,” she hissed.

With a mighty battle cry, Bow lunged forward, bow forgotten in the sand and an arrow raised high in his fist. Catra leapt back, leaving Glimmer on her back in the sand, and grabbed Bow’s arm at the elbow. She locked onto his ankle and twisted his arm back. Bow yelped and dropped the arrow, twisting his body around and yanking his arm free. Catra snickered and kicked him in the back, sending him face first into the sand.

Suddenly, Adora was at her side, grabbing her arm, desperation on her face.

“Catra! Please, leave them alone!”

“What the hell is wrong with you-”

That’s when a wave, far taller than any Glimmer had summoned, crashed into them. Catra screamed as she submerged, water filling her lungs. Adora clung tightly to her, body braced against the force of the ocean, but they were both knocked off their feet. The water receded, and Catra rolled onto her hands and knees, coughing up water, tears streaming down her cheeks from the burn of salt.

Another wave slammed against them, and they scrambled onto the grass, seeking a reprieve from the water. Catra turned and saw a boat, of Southern Water Tribe make, approaching the shore, two women standing at its bow in war paint, spears raised at the ready.

“Mom!” Glimmer exclaimed, rising shakily to her feet as the boat came ashore, and her mother stepped up between Netossa and Spinnerella.

“Thank goodness!” Bow shouted, pushing himself up and retrieving his bow.

The Fire Nation soldiers were thoroughly confused, wet, and angry, but Netossa and Spinnerella weren’t giving them a chance to rally, leaping from the deck and clocking six of them in the ribs before they could react. Angella hit them with surge after surge of the ocean. A firebender tried to light a flame in her hands, only to have it snuffed out immediately. Commander Octavia spluttered as she tried to regain her footing, eyes wide at the sudden arrival of reinforcements.

The soldiers that had been left to guard the townsfolk had long since joined their comrades on the beach, and the villagers now gathered at the edge of the sand, whooping as Netossa and Spinnerella continued to force the Fire Nation soldiers back toward their ship, a storm surge in their wake.

Catra grabbed Adora’s arm and pulled her toward the retreating soldiers. It was time to go. But Adora yanked herself free and backed away.

 _Why_ , raged Catra, _Why does she always have to be like this?!_

“I’m not going,” she said, “Come on, Catra. Can’t you see how wrong this is?”

“How wrong - What about how wrong it is of _you_ to abandon the army?! That’s treason, you know!”

“I _can’t go_ , Catra.”

Catra narrowed her eyes.

“Can’t, or won’t?”

Adora took a deep breath and met her best friend’s eyes.

“I won’t go.”

“Uuuuugh, you’re being _ridiculou_ s _!_ ”

Almost all of the soldiers were on the ship now, racing back and forth like chickens, trying to prepare the ship to leave. Glimmer and Bow stood on the beach, watching in awe. Catra scowled.

“Now’s our chance, Adora. Let’s show them how much better than the rest of these soldiers we are.”

“What are you talking about-”

Catra was already halfway to Glimmer, fire bright in her hands. Everyone’s back was turned to her. And she was fast. Faster than even Adora. She wouldn’t know what hit her-

“STOP!”

A blast of wind slammed into Catra’s side and sent her careening onto her back. She slid several feet through the sand, leaving a trail like a comet behind her. She raised her head, dazed, and saw Adora standing in the distance, both arms outstretched, a look somewhere between terror and determination in her eyes. Catra felt like her brain was surrounded by fog, unable to reconcile what she felt, saw, and knew. But after a few seconds that felt like hours, the pieces clicked together.

“Adora,” she breathed, “You can . . . _airbend?_ ”

And then one final piece slotted in.

“The storm,” she growled, “That was _you?_ ”

Adora lowered her arms and backed away, looking more and more like a rabbit-deer finally face to face with its hunter. Catra sat up and was about to stand when arms reached under her shoulders and hauled her back toward the ship. Rogelio was much bigger than her, and try as she might to break free, he dragged her onto the ship, and the gangway rose up and locked into place. With a lurch, the ship began to move.

“Wait!” Catra shouted, “Adora! We’re leaving Adora behind!”

“Too bad!” Commander Octavia roared, “We always lose soldiers in war!”

 _She didn’t see,_ Catra thought, glancing around at her fellow soldiers, but none of them seemed concerned about anything other than getting as far away from Earth Kingdom territory as they could.

_None of them saw her airbend._

Had she imagined it? No. It was the only explanation for the winds on the beach, and she’d heard Adora scream at her to stop, an instant before the wind hit her. Adora was an airbender. Someway, somehow. And nobody knew but Catra. Unless . . .

_Shadow Weaver. Did she know?_

She heard the Commander shouting orders and gathered that they had set course back to the Fire Nation. Shadow Weaver rarely told Catra anything she wanted to hear, but Catra had to know. Had Adora been keeping this from her all their lives?

Had Adora just been waiting for a moment . . . a moment to leave her?

* * *

“Glimmer! I cannot _believe_ that you would run off and do something so . . . so . . . so dangerous, and stupid!” Chief Angella exclaimed, crossing her arms and staring down at her daughter.

“We couldn’t just leave these people!” Glimmer argued, “You weren’t even planning on coming until I did!”

“No, I was not! Because we cannot put people in danger by acting on every piece of intelligence that we receive!”

“But we _did_ put people in danger! _These_ people!” Glimmer gestured to the villagers who were beginning to stream onto the beach, grasping Netossa and Spinnerella’s hands and thanking them.

“If the Rebellion has any hope of defeating the Fire Nation, we cannot act rashly!”

“Chief Angella,” Bow said, stepping up beside Glimmer, “I know we disobeyed an order, but it all worked out in the end, didn’t it? I mean, we drove away a whole ship of soldiers.”

“And just how many more ships do you think the Fire Nation has, hm?”

Bow’s face sank, and he shrunk back behind Glimmer.

“Um, excuse me . . .” Adora said, stepping toward Angella.

Netossa immediately put herself between them. Adora looked down at her armor and took a deep breath. She began to untie her shoulder plates, letting them drop to the ground with a soft thud. She slipped the bracers off her forearms, and pulled the rest of the armor off of her body until she stood only in her boots, black pants, and red, long-sleeved uniform tunic with her swords at her sides.

She knelt down and bowed, her forehead touching the ground the way she’d been taught by her mother. Thinking of her made Adora’s gut clench like it was being crushed in a stone fist, but she steeled herself as she spoke, addressing both Chief Angella and the crowd of Earth Kingdom villagers that were now gathered around her.

“It’s my fault - I put your daughter in danger. It was my idea to lead the soldiers to the beach and attack them directly when we could have run away.”

“I wouldn’t have run!” Glimmer snapped, stepping around Netossa and standing beside Adora’s prone body, “No matter what, I wasn’t going to leave these people! Adora’s the only reason we won when you arrived! Without her, the soldiers wouldn’t have all been gathered here and out of their element!”

Bow scurried to Adora’s other side and nodded.

“She came up with a plan that allowed us to fight back! We had the soldiers totally disoriented!”

“When we arrived,” Angella said cooly, “A firebender was about to kill you and my daughter, and the soldiers were all turning their eyes on you.”

“That’s also my fault!” Adora exclaimed, head still pressed against the beach, “I . . . I had a windstorm distracting them, but I . . . I lost concentration. If you hadn’t shown up, then we would’ve been done for. And it would’ve been my fault. I’m sorry.”

“You only lost your concentration because I screamed,” Glimmer insisted, “It’s not your fault-”

“A windstorm?” Angella interrupted, holding up a hand for Glimmer to be silent, “You? You’re an airbender?”

Adora raised her head.

“Well - I mean. Not exactly-”

“She is!” a woman from the village exclaimed, “I saw her knock one of the firebenders back with a blast of air!”

Adora bit her lip.

“I’m- I don’t know-”

“She’s better than just an airbender!” Bow exclaimed, “She’s the Avatar!”

A hush settled over the crowd, all eyes on Adora. Angella stared at her, and asked, her voice very quiet,

“Is this true?”

Adora took a deep breath and rose to her feet.

“Yes,” she said, “I don’t know how or - or why, but I found a shrine in the mountains, and then all of a sudden I could bend, even though I never could before. Not just air but water, earth . . . fire. I _am_ the Avatar.”

Adora felt something when she said those words, a firmness settling over her, the universe wrapping itself around her and thanking her for acknowledging the truth. A voice echoed in the back of her mind, but when she strained to hear what it said, it faded away.

“The Avatar . . .” the whispers spread like flame through the crowd, and then suddenly Adora was surrounded by villagers shaking her hand, wrapping their arms around her shoulders, and cheering, lifting their fists into the air.

Angella stood, silent and stoic as ever, watching as Adora jostled to and fro in the grasp of the crowd. Adora gently pried fingers from her arms as she repeated, over and over to deaf ears,

“Please - I’m really not - I don’t - Don’t thank me -”

“Can it be true?” Spinnerella whispered, one hand gripping Netossa’s elbow.

“Yes,” Glimmer said, stepping up to her mother and tribeswomen, “Bow and I saw it, Mom. She really is the Avatar, and she helped us protect these people! With her we can . . . we can _win_!”

Angella looked her daughter over, taking in the cuts and bruises, the sweat dried on her brow and the sand covering her clothes and caught in her hair. She looked exhausted, her face pale and her legs trembling ever so slightly, but her eyes were bright, hopeful. She looked more like her father than ever before, in that moment, and Angella had to look away. She glued her eyes to Glimmer’s cheek, and began to wipe the sand away with her thumb, gently so she wouldn’t scrape the grains into her skin.

“Glimmer,” she said quietly, “One girl is not enough to win an entire war.”

“She’s not just a girl though, Mom! She’s the _Avatar!_ ”

Angella sighed and closed her eyes.

“Glimmer, after everything we’ve lost-”

Glimmer jerked away, putting a foot of beach between her and her mother, and scowled.

“You don’t even know what I want to do, and you’re already telling me no.”

“Glimmer, it’s not as simple as-”

But Glimmer turned and stormed away before Angella could finish. The villagers had started to calm, and now several carried their belongings back to what remained of their homes. Netossa and Spinnerella, experts by now at removing themselves when Angella and Glimmer began to argue, rolled a barrel up the shallow slope from the beach, chatting with an elderly man who glanced back at Adora every few seconds. Adora stood beside the pile of armor she’d shed and did her best to look anywhere that wasn’t another person’s eyes.

Bow scooted up beside her and smiled. Adora offered a weak ghost of a smile in return and began to pick at a loose thread on her sleeve. Bow took her hand and tugged her toward Angella, ignoring all protest as he brought her before the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe. The Chief was even taller than her mother, and Adora shrank back a bit as their eyes met.

“Chief Angella,” Bow said, “Since we didn’t really get off on the right foot - this is Adora. Adora, this is Chief Angella of the Southern Water Tribe, Glimmer’s mom.”

“Hello,” Adora said quietly, bowing deep from the hips, “Again, I’m really sorry about-”

Angella held up a hand, and Adora’s words died on her lips.

“Thank you,” Angella said, after a long drawn-out moment, “For helping my daughter and Bow.”

“O-Oh. Y-Yeah, of course. You’re, um, you’re welcome, your . . . um, maaaaajesty?”

“Chief will do.”

Adora nodded, noting a faraway look in Angella’s eyes, like her mind may be here but her soul was somewhere else. Adora cast her eyes around for Glimmer, but she was nowhere to be seen.

“If you are truly the Avatar,” Angella spoke, drawing Adora’s attention back, “Then how did you come to be a soldier in the Fire Nation?”

“I . . . I don’t know, Chief Angella. As far as I knew until a few hours ago, I couldn’t bend anything at all, not even fire. I was born in the Fire Nation colonies and raised in the capital. I just . . . I have no idea.”

Adora thought she must have looked particularly despondent because Chief Angella’s expression softened, and she placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Well, I’m sure one day you will find answers.”

She paused.

“I _am_ glad that you are here, but I . . . I simply cannot justify endangering my people with only the hope that things may be different now.”

“Chief Angella,” Bow said, stepping up beside Adora, “I know we disobeyed you, but we only did it because Glimmer - she really _cares_ . She just wants to prove that she’s as strong a warrior as you are, and that she’d make just as good a chief. And she was _amazing_ , really. She got us all the way here, and she held her own against a firebender, and the only reason we even went looking for Adora and figured out she’s the Avatar is because Glimmer insisted. I know it was stupid but . . . it also kinda . . . worked.”

Bow scratched the back of his neck. Not his strongest finish. But Angella did not immediately shut him down, and Adora spoke up before she could respond,

“Glimmer also . . . I gave up. I felt so useless since I don’t know how to use my avatar powers, but she helped me snap out of it and figure out a plan to help!”

Adora winced. It sounded so lame, who was she to talk about this girl she’d only just met? But it was true. Glimmer had surprised Adora with her intensity, and, while it had been overwhelming at first, Adora admired the determination. Glimmer and Bow had enacted her plan without a second thought. And despite her lack of confidence and experience bending, Glimmer had stepped up on the beach, driving herself nearly to collapse on just the hope that maybe they would make a difference.

Angella took a deep breath.

“I will talk to her,” she said and stepped away, leaving Bow and Adora standing alone on the beach, the tide washing up against their heels.

“Thanks,” Bow said.

“For what?”

“For saying that about Glimmer. Chief Angella worries about her a lot, and sometimes . . . sometimes she doesn’t see Glimmer for who she really is, you know?”

Bow sighed. He could relate to parents not seeing you for who you were, and once again he considered letting someone in on that part of his life. But he didn’t know Adora, and he didn’t want to bother Glimmer with his personal woes with all of _this_ going on.

“She’s really brave,” Adora said.

“Yeah, she is. And, don’t get me wrong, she does reckless stuff sometimes, but she’s right. We can’t keep sitting around and let the Fire Nation destroy everything we love.”

Adora sucked in a breath, and Bow grimaced.

“Sorry,” he said.

Adora shook her head.

“No, I want to know the truth,” she sighed, “I want to make this right.”  
  


* * *

  
“Glimmer.”

Glimmer sat with her back against a large outcrop of rock at the edge of the village, one leg crossed over the other and a storm in her eyes. When her mother approached, she grit her teeth and looked away.

“Glimmer,” Angella said again, “Can we talk, please?”

“You’re going to talk no matter what I say, so just go ahead I guess!”

Angella sighed and sat beside her daughter, crossing her legs in one fluid motion and resting her palms on her knees.

“I’m sorry,” she said, figuring that was the simplest place to start.

Glimmer whipped her head around to face her, genuine shock on her face. That hurt Angella’s heart, but she had no one to blame but herself, really.

“Oh,” Glimmer said, “Thanks . . .?”

“You disobeyed me,” Angella continued, her voice firm again, “But you did it because you wanted to help, and, as Bow so kindly pointed out to me, you _did_ help. These people are safe now because of you.”

Glimmer was so unaccustomed to praise from her mother, that all words completely fled her brain, and she could only nod. A triumphant note sounded in her mind. Finally. Her mother had seen her.

“The Avatar . . . I know finding her has given you a lot of hope. It brings me hope as well. But, we cannot be careless.”

“I know, Mom,” Glimmer said, finally finding her voice, not about to let the conversation she’d been waiting years for pass her by, “We don’t have enough people to defeat the Fire Nation ourselves.”

Angella nodded. Glimmer took a deep breath, afraid Angella was about to seize control of the conversation once again.

“ThatswhyIwanttogototheNorthPoleandtheEarthKingdomtofindallies!”

Angella frowned.

“What?”

Glimmer breathed again.

“I want to go to the Northern Water Tribe. And to see the queen of the Earth Kingdom. I want to find us allies again.”

“Glimmer, the other leaders want nothing to do with the Rebellion after the disaster that cost us your father. Not to mention, it would be incredibly dangerous-”

“Mom, _listen_ to me. We have the Avatar. You said it yourself - the Avatar brings you hope. If I show up with Adora, the other nations will listen.”

Her mother wanted to say no, Glimmer could see it, braced for it. But though her face twitched, Angella said nothing. She stared past Glimmer, at the rock behind her head. And then finally, she murmured,

“Alright.”

“. . . Alright? I . . . I can go? With Bow?”

Angella nodded.

“But Glimmer,” she breathed, “Please . . . You _must_ be careful. I don’t want to lose you too.”

Glimmer threw her arms around her mother, burying her face in her shoulder.

“You won’t, I promise! Oh, Mom, thank you!”

She pulled back, laughing, tears shining in her eyes.

“Thank you! I won’t let you down! Bow . . . I’m going to tell Bow!”

Glimmer leapt to her feet and sprinted back toward the beach.

Her mother still sat with her legs crossed, one hand lingering in the air, stretched toward her daughter. She watched as Glimmer bounced toward Bow, flinging her arms around her best friend and chattering in his ear, her excitement tipping them off balance and into the encroaching surf.

For a long time, Angella stared out at the sea. The sun finally set, beams of bright color shooting across the sky as the stars blinked into view. She could see the Avatar standing alone on the beach now, also staring out to the distant horizon.

Angella gazed at the water.

She was far away, memories of a previous goodbye playing through her mind.


	5. Book 1: Water - Murky Waters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora, Glimmer, and Bow begin their journey. Catra begins her hunt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're off to a new arc folks! Thanks as always for reading!!

It was two days before they were ready to set out for the Northern Water Tribe, and Adora spent most of her time sitting on the beach, staring westward. It had only taken one night for the tides to erase all traces of the battle; it was as if the Fire Nation had never landed a ship on the shore. And with her back to the remains of the village, it was as if nothing had happened at all. Adora was all that remained, bare feet buried in the sand, her knees pulled up under her chin.

_Will I ever see the beach at home again?_

Adora bit her lip.

_Will I ever see Mom again?_

She lowered her face and pressed her forehead to her kneecaps. Doubt crawled up her skin, raising goosebumps. What the hell made her think she could stop this war? What was she doing, stranded here with these people she didn’t know? Why didn’t she just get on that ship and act like nothing ever happened? Why didn’t she listen to Catra? Why-

“Mara, you always worry so much dearie.”

Adora whipped her head up and turned it in every way it could turn.

“Who _are_ you?!” she said, “And - And _where_ are you?!”

She craned her neck desperately, but there was no one else around, even though it sounded like the woman had spoken right beside her. Adora slammed her palms against her ears and bowed her head into her knees again. She couldn’t do this - whatever _this_ even was! She sat there, breathing heavily, until she heard the crunching of boots on sand behind her.

“Adora?”

Cautiously, she raised her head and met Bow’s eyes. She lowered her hands and bit her lip again. She tasted blood.

“Are you okay?” he asked, squatting down beside her.

“I . . . No. Not really.”

Bow flopped down onto his backside and looked her over. She was nothing like the Avatars from the stories his fathers had told him. Of course, those Avatars had always been grown up, already masters of the elements. He’d always imagined that the Avatar would have some sort of aura, something that let you know they were powerful the moment you lay eyes on them. He _had_ seen that, when they found Adora in the temple, but now . . . now she just looked like another scared kid.

A surge of guilt welled up in his throat. Of course she was scared. Of course she was just another kid. Being the Avatar didn’t mean she wasn’t a person.

“You know,” he said, “I haven’t been home in two years.”

“Huh?”

“I’m not from the Southern Water Tribe - I just traveled there to join the Rebellion. I’m actually from the Earth Kingdom. But I haven’t been back since I left.”

Adora hugged her knees and leaned toward Bow.

“Have you . . . Have you seen your family at all?”

He shook his head. Adora sniffled, and he smiled softly.

“Hey, it’s okay. I mean . . . I’m doing the right thing, and that makes it a little easier. Kinda.”

Adora rubbed an eye and sniffled again.

“But your family . . . At least when this is all over you’ll be a hero to them. I’m . . . I’m going to be a traitor.”

“Hey, I’m sure that’s not true. I mean, your parents aren’t going to think this war is more important than you-”

“My mom is a top general and the Fire Lord’s War Minister.”

“Oooookaaaaay - Yeah that - _What_ ?! Your mom is the _War Minister?_ ”

Adora nodded glumly and swiped her sleeve across her nose.

_Keep it together, Bow. Supportive. Be supportive._

Bow managed to gulp down a shriek and took a few deep breaths. If Adora’s mom was the War Minister . . . there was no way the army would just let her go missing! He’d been content to hang around the village for a few days and recover, but now he couldn’t wait to get moving. They needed to get to the North Pole before, well, before the War Minister herself came looking.

“I’m sure even the, uh, War Minister would care more about-”

“It’s okay,” Adora said with a sigh that moved her whole body like a wave, “My mom . . . She . . . I’m doing what’s right, like you said.”

She shrunk down now, curling in on herself like a turtle-duck. 

“I just wish I knew _how_ to do it,” she said in a small voice.

“You don’t have to do it alone.”

Adora and Bow almost leapt out of their skins, but Glimmer pretended not to notice as she dropped down into the sand and crossed her legs.

“We’ll help you,” she said, “I promise.”

Then she smiled and held out her pinky to Adora. Adora stared, and for a moment Glimmer thought that maybe the Fire Nation didn’t have pinky promises. But then Adora raised her hand and linked her finger with Glimmer’s. Glimmer bounced their hands three times and let go with a flourish.

“There,” she announced proudly, “It’s a promise.”

She smiled again, and Adora’s stomach somersaulted. Glimmer leaned toward her and Bow.

“We’re leaving first thing in the morning,” she said, the sparkle in her eye especially bright, “We’re really going to the Northern Water Tribe!”

Bow grinned and held out his hand. Glimmer smacked hers against it and let out a small, gleeful giggle. He’d begun to doubt whether they could really make a difference. Despite all of his hard work, he’d barely held it together during the battle. He’d almost cost his parents another child, and that thought was a knife to the gut.

But when Glimmer smiled, all of those feelings melted away. They hadn’t died. They had saved the town. And now they had the world’s greatest hope with them, and they were going to end this war, together. Like they’d always talked about. He gave Glimmer a playful nudge with his elbow, and she pressed a hand against his face.

Adora watched them prod and shove each other, watched them snicker as the excitement overtook them. She smiled just a little, her pinky still held slightly aloft. 

* * *

Catra knelt on a cushion at the low table in the living room. She fidgeted, leaning her weight from leg to leg, wincing a little as one of her calves began to cramp. Normally, she would give up on proper form and just cross her legs, but . . . It didn’t seem like a good idea, given the circumstances. She tapped her fingers against her knees, eyes glued to the table.

The living room in Shadow Weaver’s house - because even if Catra grew up there, it had never felt like _hers_ \- was spacious, boasting several plush divans and a variety of expensive pottery displayed on shelves and lacquered end tables. At the center was the large, round tea table where Catra waited. It was a sturdy thing, and polished clean daily by the servants. Catra used to help them before she joined the army. She dug one of her long nails into the side, chipping away a few splinters of wood absentmindedly as the ticking of an ornate clock filled her head.

Then she heard footsteps down the hallway, and she raised her head just in time to see Shadow Weaver sweep into the room, the tail of her robes fluttering as she rounded the corner and placed herself across from Catra in one fluid motion. She did not sit.

“What happened?” Shadow Weaver demanded, her hands folded into her sleeves, the lamplight glinting off her mask.

Catra took a deep breath, straightening her back as she’d seen Adora do so many times. Adora.

“Adora’s gone,” she said with a swallow, “She got left behind.”

Shadow Weaver began to pace. Her long, dark hair, usually pulled into an impeccably tight arrangement on her scalp, hung loose down her back, and Catra watched as the War Minister raised a hand to free a few strands that were trapped in the side of her mask. 

The mask was a surprisingly plain thing, for all of Shadow Weaver’s other displays of wealth. It was white, with crimson paint along the nose and swept beneath the eyes, and thick black brows that reached up to the forehead. The upper lip was red. Half a war-mask. Catra knew she had another, painted with the full display of a dragon’s face hanging in her study, a remnant of her time in the field. 

Shadow Weaver whirled to face Catra once more.

“How did this happen? Adora is the captain of your company, and the only one who didn’t return. How could you lose one girl?”

“I didn’t lose her!” Catra snapped.

Shadow Weaver narrowed her eyes, the only part of her face that could be seen, and Catra shrank back.

“She . . . She _refused_ to come home,” Catra murmured, bowing her head, trying to hide her watery eyes.

“What do you mean?”

Catra blinked quickly and then met Shadow Weaver’s gaze again.

“We were fighting, and she fell down a cliffside. I wanted to go looking for her, but Commander Octavia wouldn’t _let_ me! Then she suddenly reappeared, but she was . . . she was saying _crazy_ things! About how we had to stop this - we were wrong - I don’t even know. Then I lost sight of her, but fighting broke out on the beach, and she . . . she attacked me!”

“She _attacked_ you?” Shadow Weaver ran her eyes across Catra, “Obviously she wasn’t trying very hard. I don’t see the mark of a blade on you.”

Catra looked around the room, as if she were expecting someone to be crouched in a corner, listening to every word they said. She rose slowly to her feet and approached Shadow Weaver, standing closer to the woman than perhaps she ever had before. Her voice was barely a whisper.

“She didn’t attack me with her swords . . . She - She used _airbending_.”

The silence that followed was louder than anything else. It drowned out the ticking of the clock, the shuffling of the servants upstairs, the chirping of crickets in the yard. Catra thought her head might explode, until Shadow Weaver finally spoke.

“Airbending? That’s not possible.”

“I know, I know! But she _did!_ I swear.”

Shadow Weaver sucked in a sharp breath and turned abruptly, striding across the room to the doorway and peering into the hall. She turned back to Catra, closing the space between them again in three quick strides.

“Have you told anyone else about this? _Have you?_ ”

“No!” Catra covered her mouth and hissed out, “No! I didn’t tell anybody else! I’m not an idiot!”

“Hm, perhaps not.” 

Shadow Weaver raked a hand through her hair and crossed to the large windows on the east wall of the room. She pulled one of the heavy curtains open an inch and peered out into the purple dusk. The lanterns hung on the front gate were lit, and the gardener was bidding one of the other servants good-evening as he struck out onto the street, joining the stream of people heading downhill into the heart of the city. As she watched, the last of the sunlight faded, and she found she could see only the reflection of her mask, staring back at her. She closed the curtains once more.

“You must tell no one of this,” she said, her back still to Catra, “No one.”

“I won’t, but . . .”

_Did you know? Did you both keep this from me all this time?_

“How can Adora be an airbender?”

Shadow Weaver was silent for a long time. Catra could see the barest glimpse of her reflection in the sliver of glass between the curtains.

“While you were gone the Fire Sages brought word to the palace,” she finally said, “The sanctuary at the temple lit up like a beacon three days ago - the day of your attack.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means the Avatar has returned.”

Catra’s eyes went wide, and she took a step back, choking on disbelief. 

“The Avatar . . . A-Are you serious? Adora is . . . Adora is the Avatar?”

Shadow Weaver turned to her.

“I’m giving you a new assignment. Pick whichever soldiers you wish to form a small squad. You’re going to bring Adora home - unharmed. By any means necessary.”

Catra’s head spun. Maybe Shadow Weaver was lying. Adora couldn’t be . . . 

“Catra!” 

She jumped and raised her head to meet Shadow Weaver’s eyes. 

“If you cannot manage this, I will find somebody who can-”

_No! Adora is_ my _best friend! I’ll get her back if it . . . if it kills me._

“I’ll bring her home!” Catra took a deep breath, “I won’t let you down.”

“See that you don’t.”

* * *

With a moan, Adora leaned over the side of the boat and heaved. She had adapted quickly enough to the giant warship, but the small Water Tribe vessel swayed with every wave, and she found herself struggling to keep her body upright and her breakfast in her stomach. Bow sat with one hand on the rudder, his eyes continually drawn to endless ocean that spilled across the horizon to their left. On the right, they hugged a cliffside - the boat Glimmer and Bow had taken to the island was not the ideal vehicle in the deep, open waters. 

Glimmer’s stance was sure as she examined the map in her hands, the edges of the paper crinkling in the salty breeze. She tried to keep her cool, but she was ready to _scream_ with excitement. Finally, her mother had let her go! With the Avatar, there was no way the Northern Water Tribe would refuse to help them, and Glimmer was determined to reach her sister tribe as quickly as possible.

There was no way they’d be able to take their little boat all the way to the North Pole, so Glimmer had set her sights on a large Earth Kingdom port city, where she hoped they could get passage further north on a more suitable ship. 

“Is there any way we could pull over?” Adora groaned, a hand over her mouth.

Bow looked over the side of the boat.

“Uh, sorry. There’s kinda . . . not any land. It’s just cliffs.”

She let out a weak, “Uuuugh,” and then she leaned further over the side of the boat and threw up.

Bow winced and reached over to rub her back. Glimmer chewed her lip and rolled up the map as she watched Adora wretch. Maybe the sea wouldn’t bother her so much once she learned to waterbend. That was the other cause for Glimmer’s excitement - in the Northern Water Tribe she could find other waterbenders to teach her what her mother wouldn’t! 

“Maybe I can make the ship rock less with my bending,” she suggested, slipping the map into her parka, “I could use the practice anyway!”

“I dunno, Glimmer,” Bow said, glancing at Adora as she shook and wretched again. He continued to pat her back, “Are you sure it won’t make it worse?”

“Trust me,” Glimmer said with a roll of her eyes, “It’ll be fine. I’m just going to make the waves push us forward, instead of side to side!”

“No side to side would be-” Adora hiccuped, “Great.”

Glimmer turned and faced the bow of the ship. She raised both arms and closed her eyes. Adora slumped back, sinking down to the floor. Bow held out a waterskin to her, and she took small sips, her eyes on Glimmer. Thinking of everything she had to learn filled her with a dread she hadn’t experienced before. Swords, swords she knew. But bending . . . and having to learn _all_ of it. She shuddered. 

But she was determined to deliver. Adora followed through on her word, and she was still Adora. 

_Right?_

She shoved that thought to the back of her mind and watched Glimmer carefully, hoping to pick up something, anything, that would help her learn to waterbend herself.

Sweat formed on Glimmer’s brow and ran down her chin. It sounded so simple - just make the water go _forward_. But the ocean was vast and powerful and it did not care what she wanted. She grit her teeth, and scrunched her eyes closed even tighter. She pulled her arms back and pushed with all her might. The boat lurched forward for a second, but then the waves took control again. Adora held her stomach and let out a small “uuuuuughaaaa.”

Glimmer pushed again. Another lurch. Another groan.

“Glimmer,” Bow said, “I don’t think-”

“Stupid. Water. Why. Won’t. You. _Listen!_ ” 

She screamed and pushed forward once more, putting all her might behind the gesture, and the water around them suddenly roared to life, carrying the boat several feet into the air as it surged forward.

Bow and Adora clung to the sides of the boat and screamed.

“GLIMMER! DO SOMETHING!” Bow shrieked as they careened away from the cliffside. 

Adora couldn’t scream. If she did, she’d vomit again. So she hugged the boat, squeezed her eyes shut, and desperately hoped they didn’t crash back into the water, shatter their only transportation, and drown. Glimmer flailed her arms, but she couldn’t take back what she’d unleashed, and they continued to race through the water at top speed.

Then, several long minutes later, just as suddenly as it began, they came to a halt, and all three of them were flung to the floor. Adora lay there and pressed her forehead into the wood as the boat began to rock in the waves again. Bow shakily rose to his feet and looked around.

“The cliffs! They’re gone! Land is gone! We’re in the middle of nowhere in the ocean and there’s no land!” he shouted.

Glimmer sat up and rubbed her head. She turned to her right and saw that, indeed, there was no more land in sight. She cursed and pulled herself up, using a supply box for balance.

“Do you have any idea where we are?” Bow asked.

“No, but it’s . . . it’s fine! We’ll just wait until nightfall, and then we can figure out where we are by the stars.”

Bow looked up at the sky. Judging by the sun, it was probably 1 PM, at the latest.

“It’s gonna be . . . a long wait,” he said.

Glimmer sighed.

“I’m sorry,” she muttered, “I thought I could do it.”

“Heeeey, it’s okay!” Bow said, stepping to her side and putting a hand on her shoulder, “What you did was really cool! But let’s just continue sailing the old-fashioned way from now on.”

Glimmer nodded glumly and furled the sail to keep them from blowing too far afield. She looked at Adora, who still lay face down on the deck.

“Are you okay, Adora?”

“I’m fine,” Adora said weakly, “Just . . . I like it down here. The floor - the floor is good.”

Bow leaned over to Glimmer and whispered,

“We probably shouldn’t tell people about this when we mention that she’s the Avatar.”

“I’m sorry,” Glimmer groaned, crouching down beside Adora, “I thought I could help. But it’ll be better once we’re on a bigger boat. And then we’ll be at the Northern Water Tribe!”

“Yeah . . . Hooray.”

“You don’t sound too excited,” Bow said, sitting cross-legged on her other side.

Adora raised her head slightly and looked from Bow to Glimmer and back.

“It’s just . . . I’m still a Fire Nation soldier. They won’t trust me.”

“Of course they will! Once they see you’re the Avatar, they’ll probably throw us a party!” Bow exclaimed, “It’ll be fun!”

Adora made a face.

“Fun? What’s fun about a party.”

Glimmer and Bow exchanged a confused glance.

“What’s _not_ fun about a party?” Glimmer asked, “That’s like, the point of a party.”

Adora frowned, crossing her arms in front of her chest and propping herself up.

“At home . . .” she bit her lip and took a deep breath, “At home, parties are always really boring. And kind of stressful.”

“Why?”

“Because you have to spend days getting the whole house ready and spotless or else all the other ministers, ambassadors, lords, ladies, whatever, will judge you. And then you have to make small-talk with a bunch of stuffy old people who all want to talk about the same things and ask you the same questions, and you can’t eat too much or else you’ll look undignified, but if you don’t eat _enough_ , then it’s rude. And you have to compliment the host on whatever terrible art they have in their living room, no matter what.”

Glimmer and Bow stared at her.

“What?” Adora bit her lip, “Are parties . . . not like that in the Southern Water Tribe?”

“Um, no,” Glimmer said, “In the Southern Water Tribe, we play music together and make a giant fire in the center of the village. And everyone goes hunting, and we cook a huge meal together and tell stories until like, three in the morning!”

“And in the Earth Kingdom, we have bands play music and we dance! We also have big meals and dress in fancy clothes, and people recite poetry and stuff!”

“Wow,” Adora said, “That sounds _way_ more fun.”

“It is. But . . . Well, the Southern Water Tribe hasn’t had a party in a long time,” Glimmer murmured, “Not since . . . Well, not since I was a little kid.”

“There’s still parties in the big cities in the Earth Kingdom,” Bow said, “But I haven’t been to one in a long time either.”

“Where are you from in the Earth Kingdom, Bow?” Adora asked.

“Ba Sing Se.”

Adora’s eyes widened and she shot to her knees.

“Ba Sing Se? Really? That’s amazing! Tell me all about it! Catra and I always wanted to-”

Adora froze mid-sentence, mouth half open. Her arms rested at her sides, and she clutched the fabric of her pants in her fists, bowing her head. Glimmer tentatively reached toward her, but drew her hand back and looked at Bow. She had no idea what to say.

“She really is your best friend, huh?” Bow said.

“Yeah,” Adora murmured, “She is - or maybe she was.”

“Hey,” Glimmer said, putting a hand on her arm, “It’ll be okay.”

Adora sighed and rubbed one of her eyes.

“I just . . . wanted her to come with me.”

“Maybe she still will,” Glimmer said, though she secretly hoped it never happened - that girl made her uneasy, “I mean, maybe she just needs time.”

“Yeah,” Adora echoed, “Maybe.”

* * *

Catra paced back and forth in Adora’s room. Habits were hard to break. A red, black-trimmed robe hung from a hook on the back of the bedroom door, and several pairs of soft indoor shoes sat in a neat row just beneath the bed. A worn stuffed turtle-duck perched on one of the bedside tables, and as Catra rounded the room again, she snatched it from its place and hurled it against the wall. It barely made a sound as it tumbled to the floor. 

Catra stood for a moment, arm still outstretched, panting heavily. And then she bit her lip and crouched down, gingerly lifting the stuffed toy from the woodboards and examining a small hole on its seam where a few of the feathers used to stuff it poked out. She had an identical toy, but, unlike Adora, she’d taken it with her to the barracks, squirreled away in her luggage, and then hidden it at the bottom of her uniform chest. 

They were in town for a festival, the day Adora got the turtle-ducks. As a reward for being top of the class in school, Shadow Weaver armed her excitable eight year-old daughter with a small purse of coins, and Adora and Catra ricocheted through the crowded streets like rubber balls. All the colors, the smells, the costumes, were almost enough to make Catra forget that she’d received nothing for being the second best student that year. 

It was hard to decide what to spend the money on beyond a package of fire flakes to share while traipsing through the rows and rows of stalls. They spent ages debating the merits of this versus that. Should Adora get the pretty orange slippers with bells on them, when they would ruin every game of hide and seek played thereafter? Should Adora buy a whole cake, even if it wouldn’t last longer than the evening? It started to irritate Catra; couldn’t she just make a decision, so she could stop thinking about all of the nice things Adora could get that she wouldn’t?

And then, suddenly, they were standing before a stall full of toys, and Catra’s eyes widened as she fixed them on the turtle-ducks. At the orphanage, the children had argued about every toy, since there weren’t quite enough for everyone, but it was always the stuffed animals that Catra had yearned for most. As she stared, she sensed Adora watching her, and turned away with a small huff. Adora never had much interest in stuffed animals, so Catra had already begun to walk away when she heard,

“Two of those ones, please!”

When she turned, Adora’s arms were stretched out toward her, and in her hands was one of the turtle-ducks. Catra took it slowly, careful not to catch her long nails on any loose threads, and opened her mouth. Nothing came out. Adora finished counting out the coins, almost every last one she had, took her own toy, and bumped her shoulder playfully against Catra’s.

“I’m gonna name mine Turtie,” she announced.

“That’s a stupid name,” Catra said, turning her face away and walking off, her turtle-duck crushed up against her chest.

Adora giggled and trailed after her. As they wandered further from the chaos toward a wide, grassy hill full of families waiting for fireworks, Catra looked back at her best friend.

“Thanks,” she said quietly, “I’ve never had one that was just mine before.”

Adora nodded and bopped her turtle-duck’s head against Catra’s.

“They’ll be best friends, like you and me.”

Catra rose from Adora’s floor and placed Turtie back in her place on the bedside table. There was no way Adora wouldn’t come back with her. Everything just happened too fast, it was too crazy, back at the village. Her best friend wouldn’t abandon her. 

_She did leave Turtie behind, though._

Catra shook the thought from her head: the thought that maybe Adora had outgrown her, like she’d outgrown their toys. No. 

“I’ll get her back,” she growled, “I’ll bring her home, and everything will go back to normal.”

A knock on the door made her jump.

“Catra?” It was Suyi, one of the servants, “A guest has arrived, and General Shadow Weaver wants you to come downstairs.”

Catra opened the door with a puzzled expression.

“What kind of guest? What does she want me for?”

Suyi was getting on in years, her hair turned almost entirely to gray from the brown Catra remembered, but she gave no indication that she intended to stop her work anytime soon. She also gave no indication that she intended to stop _nagging_ anytime soon.

“I don’t know, but it will be incredibly rude if you keep them waiting much longer. Especially after you already missed dinner.”

Catra groaned and rolled her eyes.

“Shadow Weaver doesn’t even _eat_ at dinner-”

“ _General_ Shadow Weaver. Now, stop your sulking and go. You’re not going to accomplish anything if you spend all your time pacing around up here.”

Thankfully, Suyi decided she was done with the conversation before Catra could answer with something _truly_ rude. What did someone like Suyi know about Catra’s situation? She’d never been in the military, never been an orphan, never had to spend her whole life trying to live up to an impossible standard. And Catra bet she’d never had to go drag her own best friend back home, fighting off people from the Earth Kingdom _and_ the Water Tribe! Catra slammed Adora’s door behind her and stomped downstairs, not bothering to lighten her footfalls as she barged into the sitting room.

Shadow Weaver was nowhere to be seen, but, seated on a plush divan, was a very tall, very muscular girl with shockingly white hair sprouting out between the two shaved sides of her scalp. She was a little older than Catra, maybe eighteen or nineteen she guessed, and dressed in her military uniform, a captain’s badge on her shoulder. Catra had never seen her before in her life.

“Who’re you?” she demanded, deciding it wasn’t necessary to stand on ceremony without Shadow Weaver in the room.

“Oh, haha, sorry! Should’ve introduced myself right when you walked in,” the girl said, standing up and bumping her knees against the low table, tea sloshing out of a small porcelain cup in front of her, “Oh, oh my. Let me just . . .”

She shuffled around the table and approached Catra, holding out a large hand.

“Name’s Scorpia! Shadow Weaver asked me to help you out on your-,” she lowered her voice, a hint of glee sneaking in as she spoke, “Super secret mission!”

Catra stared at her.

_She has_ got _to be kidding_.

Footsteps echoed down the hallway, and then Shadow Weaver stepped into the room behind Catra. Catra turned to her immediately.

“Tell me she’s kidding.”

Shadow Weaver folded her hands into her sleeves.

“She is not. Scorpia is another captain who I’ve pulled from her company in order to assist you.”

“No offense, but she doesn’t seem- What do you mean _another_ captain?”

Shadow Weaver pulled her hands free. Between her index and middle finger she held a patch with a captain’s insignia.

“Congratulations on your promotion, _Captain_ Catra.”

Scorpia let out a tiny gasp and clapped her hands. Catra could only stare as Shadow Weaver pressed the patch into her palm. Captain. She was a captain. Like Adora.

_Better than Adora._ I _won’t run away just because things get a little scary._

She came back to herself and straightened her shoulders.

“Thank you, General.”

Shadow Weaver nodded and gestured to Scorpia.

“Captain Scorpia will accompany you and your squad. You’ll need someone more experienced like her if you’re going to brush with rebels and survive. Have you decided on who you’re taking with you?”

Catra nodded.

“Three members of our company who Adora and I have trained with extensively.”

“Very good. Get in touch with them tonight; you leave at dawn.”

Catra saluted, bowed her head, then turned to Scorpia with a slight wince.

“Well . . . Come on, I guess. We’re going to the barracks.”

“Aye, aye, Captain! Get it, cuz you’re a captain now?”

Catra took a deep breath and strode out of the room, Scorpia scurrying after her, walking just a little too close for Catra’s taste. She didn’t like having anyone right up against her back. She quickened her pace, but Scorpia just matched it.

“Could you, I dunno, stop breathing down my neck?” Catra demanded.

Scorpia fell back a few inches with a good-natured smile.

“Sorry, boss!”

_Boss, huh._

_I like the sound of that._

* * *

Night had finally fallen, and Glimmer sat with the map and a star chart spread out before her, Adora and Bow leaning over her shoulders. Half a moon hung in the sky above them, casting a dim glow across the waves. Bow held a lantern lit with seal blubber out over the papers as Glimmer periodically glanced from the map, to the chart, to the sky, and back. Finally, she put a finger on their location.

“Here,” she said, “We’re actually way ahead of schedule and not too far off course!”

They certainly had been pushed far further north than Bow expected, though the drastic change in temperature made sense now. They had spent the afternoon huddled, sweating under the sail to keep the sun off, and even now that night had come it was still pretty warm. Adora fanned herself with the front of her shirt, glad she’d left her armor behind. They were still south of the equator, but they would probably make it to the port in just two more days time, instead of the week that Glimmer had predicted.

“Wow. Your waterbending is really strong,” Adora said, looking at Glimmer in awe.

“Thanks,” Glimmer said with a small smile. Even if they’d had a miserable afternoon, it still thrilled her that she’d managed to push them so far, all by herself.

“Do you feel better?” Bow asked Adora, leaning back to look at her.

Adora nodded, closed her eyes, and flopped onto her back.

“I think I finally got used to it.”

Bow turned back to Glimmer and gave her a thumbs up. Adora was . . . weird, but not in a bad way. The Fire Nation was just so different than the Earth Kingdom or Water Tribe. But, then again, Adora was also very different than everything he and Glimmer had heard about Fire Nation soldiers. Glimmer smiled and rolled up the maps, slipping them back into the inner pocket of her parka that was now slung over a barrel of water.

Truth be told, Bow couldn’t wait for them to land in the Earth Kingdom once again. He’d missed its green fields and mighty trees and, well, multiple seasons. Plus, there would be a post office in the port, and he really needed to send a letter home. He’d gotten word to his fathers a couple of times over the years, but the Rebellion network was only able to pass on short messages, and all of its remaining contacts in Ba Sing Se had gone silent months ago.

He needed to send them a proper letter, telling them that he was safe and making good progress with his research. He winced a little as he planned out the lie in his head. When he’d fled to join the Rebellion, he hadn’t been completely honest about his intentions with his family; as far as they knew, he was traveling in the south of the Earth Kingdom, studying ruins and disconnecting from it all to cope with the loss of his brothers. It wasn’t a total lie - he did leave to cope with the loss. Just . . . the method of coping was a little more aggressive and dangerous than studying ancient rocks.

“Whoa.”

Bow was pulled from his thoughts when he heard Adora gasp behind him. He turned and saw her staring up at the sky, eyes wide. He leaned his head back and saw hundreds of lights, streaking across the sky.

“Glimmer!” he exclaimed, “Look at the stars!”

“I’ve been looking at the stars all night,” Glimmer mumbled, but she fell silent when she turned her gaze to the sky.

It was more shooting stars than she had ever seen in her life. Anywhere she looked, the sky was full of them, streaking across the blue and purple cosmos. She scooted over to Adora and lay on her back beside her. Bow lay down on her other side. The three of them watched, wide-eyed and silent as meteor after meteor flew by. 

For a few moments, Adora thought she could see the galaxy above her head turning, ever so slowly, a wave of gold and orange traveling across the sky, stars bursting brighter for half a second before fading back to a twinkle. The ocean breeze raised the hairs from her forehead, and she heard Glimmer breathe in and out in time with the rocking of the waves. On her other side, she could feel a slight heat radiating off of Bow’s bare arm as he shifted, raising one hand up to the sky like he could catch one of the falling stars. 

There was only an inch or two between her and each of her companions, and, as she continued to stare up at the stars and the moon and all the colors of the galaxy, Adora felt her heartbeat slow and knew somehow it had matched the pace of those beside her. A voice echoed in her head again, but it was too far away, like a shout traveling miles across a canyon. She raised a hand too, convinced for a moment that she could put her fingers directly against the canopy of the sky and peel it back to reveal something even brighter beneath it . . .

Then, the boat rocked with so much force that Glimmer almost flew overboard. She screamed and tumbled over Adora and Bow, slamming into the wall of the ship as it tilted to nearly a 90 degree angle. She clung to the side, one leg trailing into the cold water as Bow and Adora scrambled to keep themselves from crashing down against her. Then the boat tipped back onto its bottom, and they all rolled to the other side from the force of it. 

“W-What was that?!” Bow squeaked out, “I didn’t think there were sea monsters out here!”

“Sea monsters?!” Adora whipped her head around to look at Bow and Glimmer, “You can’t be serious!”

Glimmer peeked over the side and down into the water.

“I don’t see anything!” 

There was an ear-splitting crack, and water seeped up from the deck. The boat shook and sunk a few inches.

“We gotta get outta here!” Bow shouted.

“And go where?!” Adora screamed, clinging to the mast as the boat began to shake violently again, “We’re in the middle of the ocean!”

Glimmer grit her teeth. She got them all the way here - she could get them back to the shore. She tried to stand, but fell hard onto her knees when the boat shook again. 

_Shit. Come on Glimmer, you can_ do _this!_

She stayed on her knees and raised her arms. She started to try and push the waves toward the east. But the boat continued to tip and turn, and more and more water bubbled up around them. Her knees went numb from the cold of it.

“T’s not working!” Adora shouted, raising a foot, water streaming out of her boot.

“Help her, Adora!” Bow exclaimed, “You _can_ waterbend! Try!”

“R-Right!” Adora widened her stance and slowly let go of the mast, windmilling her arms to stay upright as another crack rang out and the boat rocked once more. 

She followed Glimmer’s motions, pulling back and shoving forward, trying to coax the water into following their hands. The boat shuddered forward a couple of feet, then slammed to a stop like it hit a solid wall. All three of them were flung onto the deck with a splash. Bow tried to catch himself and yelled in pain as his shoulder jammed back against his collarbone. Glimmer tried to stand again, but the water was a foot high now, and the deck slick. She held onto the wall and looked frantically out at the water. She could see nothing. No shadows in waves, no flick of a scaled tail. It was like the ocean itself was trying to kill them!

A shadow passed overhead, and Glimmer whirled around just in time to see a wave, far larger than any of the others, bearing down on them. She opened her mouth to scream a warning, but then the water crashed against the boat, submerging them completely and racing into her lungs. She saw Bow and Adora falling through the water beside her, choking and flailing, trying to reach the surface as the frigid darkness swept in around them.


	6. Book 1: Water - The Central Water Tribe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really struggled a LOT with this chapter y'all, but I've been very excited for it, so please let me know what you think!

Glimmer’s eyes flew open, and she gasped for air, relief washing over her as her lungs expanded. She stared up at the stars. Their light had faded and the first breath of dawn seeped upward into the sky. Her mind churned. She could feel wooden planks beneath her and the rocking of the waves, but the ship had been destroyed, hadn’t it? 

“Oh wonderful, you’re awake!” exclaimed an unfamiliar voice.

She sat bolt upright, her head spinning in protest, and smacked foreheads with the stranger. He lurched back, rubbing his head, and put a hand out to steady her as her body wavered.

“Bow! Adora!”

She twisted her body around, head reeling once again, and let out another breath when she saw the others lying a few feet away, unconscious, but their chests rising and falling. The man sighed, more than a little disappointed that she’d brushed past the subject of him so quickly. He  _ was _ her rescuer, after all!

“I was starting to worry,” he said, drawing Glimmer’s eyes back to him.

She let her head settle and then looked him over, eyes passing over the eyebrows, the earrings, the mustache. He was much better dressed for the weather in a sleeveless shirt and loose pants, and a necklace of scrubbed shells hung low across his chest. Something about the get-up seemed familiar, but Glimmer had better things to worry about.

“Who are you?” she demanded, her eyes narrowed.

“I’m so glad you asked!” the man exclaimed, throwing his arms wide, “I’m the one, the only-”

“Uuuuugh,” Bow groaned, bringing a hand to his head.

“Bow!” Glimmer screeched, crawling to her best friend’s side, “Are you okay?”

“I think so,” he said, but then let out a shout when he tried to prop himself up on an elbow, “Never mind.”

Glimmer scooted up behind him and helped sit him up. Bow tried to lift his arm, but only made it a few inches before he hissed in pain and cradled it against his chest. 

“Crap. Something’s definitely broken.”

“Oh, this is all my fault,” Glimmer lamented, “I got us lost.”

“Yeah, but  _ you _ didn’t attack us,” Bow said, “Is Adora okay?”

They both turned to see Adora curled up in a ball, sleeping soundly as if they  _ hadn’t  _ almost died. Her mouth hung open slightly, and a little bit of drool ran down her chin.

“Okay that’s just impressive,” Bow murmured.

The stranger cleared his throat. Glimmer turned back to him, and Bow blinked, just now realizing they weren’t alone. Of course they weren’t. There was no way their ship survived that wave.

“We’ll get you all fixed up back in town,” he said, gesturing to Bow’s arm, “Never fear! Now, was I was saying, I am-”

“HYA! DIE, SEA MONSTER, EVIL WATER! AH!” 

Adora shouted out in her sleep and flailed, one leg kicking into the air, her voice carrying across the waves. When her heel came back down on the deck, she jolted awake and lay with her limbs sprawled out, breathing heavily.

“We’re alive!” she exclaimed.

She sat up and looked at Glimmer and Bow.

“How are we alive?”

“You are alive because I rescued you!” the man exclaimed, determined to have his moment, and rose to his full height, spreading his arms wide, “I, the magnificent, brave, and unstoppable Sea Hawk! Scourge of the Fire Nation, and the greatest captain to sail the seas!”

The kids stared for a moment and exchanged a quick look of bewilderment. 

“Uh, never heard of you,” Adora said because really, what do you say to something like that?

Sea Hawk stumbled for a moment, his foot caught in a line of rope coiled up on the floor of the boat. Glimmer had never heard of him either, and she didn’t really care what his name was. She did care that they were on a boat with a weird mustachioed man going who knows where. She rose to her feet and drew herself up to her very-not-full height. Her mom made it look so easy to be commanding, but everything was easier if you were over six feet tall.

“Listen here  _ Sea Hawk _ , you’re going to tell me exactly where you’re taking us right now! I don’t like being kidnapped!”

“Kidnapped?” Sea Hawk caught himself on the side of the boat and shot a puzzled look from Glimmer to Adora and Bow. Bow put on his best tough face and tried to look intimidating, but he still held his arm gingerly against his abdomen, and he didn’t have much experience with being scary. Adora, on the other hand, wore a scowl that almost made Bow scoot a few inches further away.

“Now just calm down everybody,” Sea Hawk said leaning on a barrel, “You see I was taking a little night sail around when I saw your ship capsize. It was completely destroyed, but I managed to haul the three of you aboard after fighting off several giant sea monsters and a horde of iguana-sharks. I didn’t kidnap you, I  _ rescued  _ you! It was all very daring and heroic! Almost made me want to set my ship on fire.”

“Why . . . Why would you set your own ship on fire?” Adora asked, the scowl drained away and replaced with utter confusion.

“For the  _ excitement  _ of it all! I’ve caught  _ seven _ ships on fire!”

“Whoa,” Bow said, with a little more awe than Adora or Glimmer thought was reasonable.

“People!” Glimmer shouted, “Focus, it doesn’t really matter why he- he . . . Why would you set your own ship on fire?! That’s just stupid!”

“Because it’s in the spirit of ADVENTURE!” Sea Hawk leapt onto the barrel beside him and began to sing, “When I sail the seas upon my ship-”

“Stop!” Glimmer and Adora shouted in unison.

“Aw, he had a good tune going . . .” Bow whispered.

“Sea Hawk, whoever you are,” Glimmer took a deep breath. Calm. She was calm. “Thank you for saving us. We’re very grateful that we’re you know, not dead. But do you think you can tell us where we’re actually  _ going _ ?”

Glimmer thrust her arms into the air in exasperation, and with the motion two torrents of water rose up out of the ocean and crashed back down, spraying them all with salt and brine. Bow wiped his eyes, and Adora spat salt off of her tongue. Gross. 

Sea Hawk, rather than being intimidated by this only somewhat intentional display of waterbending prowess, seemed only to grow more enthused, a twinkle sparking in his eyes. 

“I can show you!” he exclaimed, leaping down from the barrel and bounding to the bow of his ship, “We’ll be there very soon!”

Glimmer looked past him and saw that they were coming up on a cluster of islands. As they moved, it became clear that they were at the tip of an archipelago, the small islands spanning out across the horizon. 

“Perhaps in the meantime,” he said, “I could have your names?”

“Glimmer,” Glimmer murmured, watching the approaching land, “And that’s Bow and Adora . . .”

Adora gave a little wave as she stood and helped Bow to his feet. With a little prodding, she convinced him to let her look at his injury. She moved his arm carefully, watching his face to see when and where the pain began. Basic first-aid training was mandatory for soldiers, and, while most of her fellow recruits had been eager to move on to learning more exciting things, Adora never did anything halfway.

“I think it’s your collarbone,” she announced.

“Like I said,” Sea Hawk said, grinning at Glimmer as he pulled on a rope and turned them into a narrow channel between two islands, “We’ll get that fixed up right away!”

Glimmer shifted from foot to foot.

“Uh, why are you looking at me like that?” she asked.

“You still haven’t said where we’re going,” Bow pointed out, stepping up beside Glimmer.

They glided through the waters of the tightly packed archipelago, trees and marshlands on either side of them. Bow could make no sense of the waterways Sea Hawk chose to follow, but it was clear he knew where he was going. He worked the ropes deftly, skirting right against the edge of land with every curve but never so much as scratching the side of the boat.

_ That ‘greatest captain’ thing might not be a total exaggeration, _ Bow thought.

Glimmer watched Sea Hawk work, and, in the encroaching light of dawn, she ran her eyes along the curve of the ship, the etchings on the mast, the fabric of the sails. 

“This ship,” she said quietly, “It’s-”

“Now, now, you can’t make dramatic reveals on a whim. You’ve got to wait for the right moment,” Sea Hawk admonished as he kicked a box toward them and hopped over to another set of ropes.

Adora frowned and looked into the crate. Her eyes lit up as she pulled out Bow’s quiver.

“My arrows!” Bow exclaimed, grabbing the strap with his good arm and shaking the top open. 

Only a handful of arrows were undamaged, but it was nothing he couldn’t fix with a few days of work. Adora pulled out his bow and slung it onto his shoulder for him. Bow felt a tear sting his eye. He’d spent so much time making his bow, poured all of his determination into it, and he was happier than he expected to see it had survived.

“My swords!” Adora screeched.

Glimmer still had her eyes on Sea Hawk, taking in his clothes once more. The cut, the stitch-work, the  _ color _ , now visible in the rising light. He met her eyes once more before turning to face the dawn and exclaiming,

“Here we are!”

Everyone winced as the sun broke the horizon. They squinted into the light up ahead.

The sun reached across the trees, and the boat skirted around the edge of a small island, and suddenly before them there lay a wide swath of water, walled in by the islands around it. And in the center was a town made entirely of thick wooden rafts and bridges, all floating gently like bubbles atop the water’s surface. 

Wooden huts painted in bright teal and aquamarine sat atop the rafts, palm leaf roofs shifting in the breeze, and, as the sunrise seeped into the world, a couple of early risers began to emerge from their homes, all wearing blue-green tunics and trousers and skirts. One woman opened a barrel and wove her hand through the air, water rising effortlessly from the sea to meet her fingers. It flowed into the vessel at her command.

“Welcome,” Sea Hawk announced, gleefully pleased by the shocked expressions on the young travelers’ faces, “To the Central Water Tribe!”

* * *

Glimmer stared. It was all she could do. All around her were people wearing her tribe’s colors, her tribe’s patterns, her tribe’s crest. Two men hauled a net of fish up onto a dock with the help of a third who used bending to lift their catch the last few feet. A pair of warriors bearing bone spears passed by, chatting about the early hour patrol. Glimmer’s head reeled.

Sea Hawk hummed to himself as he fixed the ship to the dock with several thick lengths of rope. Bow and Adora gazed around in wonder as the sun began to beat down in earnest. Glimmer swayed a little where she stood, and Bow reached out his good arm to steady her. She leaned against one of the dock posts and tried to remember how to speak.

“How?” she asked when Sea Hawk stepped up beside her, “How is . . . When did . . .”

“I had no idea there was a Central Water Tribe!” Bow exclaimed, “Like,  _ no _ idea!”

“Neither did I,” Adora murmured in awe, watching a brother and sister chase each other around with balls of water in their hands.

“ _ I  _ didn’t even know!” Glimmer exclaimed, straightening up.

“You wouldn’t know, since we haven’t told anybody we’re here!” Sea Hawk said, “Except for a few people who have stumbled upon us over the years - but most of them actually stayed!”

“ _ Years _ ?” Glimmer whirled to face him, “How many years?!”

“Ten- Well. We left the Northern Water Tribe ten years ago. We settled down here, hm, must have been a year after that.”

“Ten. Years,” Glimmer repeated, her voice shrill, “You’ve been here for  _ ten years _ , and you never thought to tell the  _ Southern Tribe _ ?!”

Several people paused on their morning errands to look at them with quizzical expressions. Sea Hawk raised his hands in front of his chest.

“Now, now! It’s . . . well, it’s complicated. But before we go any further,” he put a hand on Bow’s good shoulder, “Let’s get you fixed up!”

And then he set off up the dock, leaving Adora, Glimmer, and Bow standing for a moment, still absolutely floored by everything around them. After a few seconds, Glimmer gathered herself and rushed after him, pulling Adora and Bow along behind her. They wound their way through the “streets” of the Central Water Tribe, crossing bridges made of floating wooden planks and cutting between buildings as the village came to life around them. 

As more and more people began to pass them by, Adora became acutely aware of how she stood out. Her pants were black, and she still wore the red uniform shirt that went beneath her armor. She noticed a girl’s eyes widen as they walked past, and she brought her shoulders to her ears and pressed closer to Glimmer’s back, like she could will herself out of existence. Was turning invisible something the Avatar could do?

Sea Hawk stopped in the open doorway of a large hut and knocked on the doorframe. Glimmer peaked under his arm to get a look inside. A middle-aged woman sat on a hide mat with a large bowl of water resting on the floor in front of her. In a semi-circle around her sat four girls of varying ages, and they all turned when Sea Hawk knocked. The woman looked up, sighed, and gestured for them to come inside.

“Sorry to interrupt!” Sea Hawk exclaimed, placing a hand on Bow’s back and directing him to the woman’s side.

“We haven’t quite started class yet,” the woman said, “What have you gotten yourself into this time?”

“Not me! My new friend here’s got a broken bone,” Sea Hawk said, gently pushing Bow down so he knelt on the floor, “And while I have far too many talents to name, waterbending isn’t one of them! I was hoping you could give him a hand!”

The woman rolled her eyes but smiled at Bow.

“Let me see, dear.”

“Uh, my friend said she thinks it’s my collarbone. Here.”

Bow pointed and then rolled his shoulder at the woman’s prompting. His breath caught as the pain seared through his body. The woman nodded and turned to her class.

“Watch closely, girls,” she said with a smile, “This is a good learning opportunity!”

Glimmer and Adora leaned in closer as the teacher pulled the water from the bowl and let it cover her hands completely like gloves.

“You’ll need to take your shirt off.”

“Ooookay?” Bow carefully extracted himself from his tunic, glad they were in a warmer part of the world now.

The woman pressed her hands gently to Bow’s collarbone and spread the water across it. Bow flinched as he felt the cold on his bare skin, but then his eyes widened as the water began to glow and the throbbing in his chest subsided. After several minutes, the teacher lowered her hands and smiled.

“How does it feel?”

Bow rolled his shoulder and stretched his arm up in the air. He swung his arms out to his sides and twisted his torso back and forth. He stared at her in awe.

“It doesn’t hurt at all!”

“I’m glad.”

“Whoa . . . Glimmer, can you do that?” Adora asked, turning to her, “Heal people?”

“I . . . I didn’t actually know . . . Mom never showed me how to do that.”

“That’s  _ amazing _ !” Bow shouted, leaping to his feet, “That’s the coolest thing ever! How did you  _ do _ that?!”

“Water is the element of life,” the woman explained as her students giggled, “In trained hands, it can restore our bodies.”

She seemed to notice something then, and her eyes narrowed. Her eyes darted to Bow’s discarded tunic, and then she looked up at Glimmer, raking her eyes over her clothes as well.

“Are you . . . Are you from the Southern Tribe?”

The students gasped and began to whisper.

“Yes!” Glimmer exclaimed, “Yes, I am! I’m one of only  _ two _ waterbenders at home, and I- I didn’t even know you all were here!”

“I see,” the woman said curtly.

Glimmer’s smile faltered.

“You should join us!” a little girl with long braids and a gap-toothed grin exclaimed. The older girl beside her tugged sharply on her hair and shook her head.

“Oh, um, I-uh-” Glimmer stammered.

“That’s a great idea!” Bow said, grasping her arm, his shirt now back on his chest, “Glimmer this is what you’ve been waiting for! A chance to learn from other waterbenders!”

“I’m afraid that isn’t possible,” the woman said, shushing her class, “I won’t teach you. Please leave. I have work to do.”

Glimmer’s heart crumbled in on itself. 

_ Why not? _

Adora put Glimmer’s forlorn thoughts into words.

“What?” she demanded, “Why?”

“Ah,” Sea Hawk stepped between the three of them and the class, “I think it’s time we go pay a visit to the chief! We’ve, um, disturbed this lovely class long enough.”

He ushered them quickly back out into the sunlight. Adora glared over her shoulder, but the class had already moved on, like they were eager to forget the people they’d just met as soon as possible. Sea Hawk stood on the edge of the raft for a moment and rubbed the back of his neck. Glimmer stared down at her feet.

_ You’re not good enough for them, _ a mean little voice hissed in the back of her head,  _ You’ll never be good enough. _

_ Your mother probably knew about the Central Water Tribe. She just didn’t tell you because she doesn’t trust you. _

_ You don’t fit in here. And you won’t fit in at the Northern Tribe either. You don’t fit in  _ anywhere.

“Glimmer?” Adora put a hand on her shoulder, “Don’t worry about what she said. I’m sure, um, I’m sure they’re just wary of strangers since they’ve been isolated!”

“But I’m  _ not _ a stranger,” Glimmer said, “I’m from a sister tribe! I . . .”

Sea Hawk sighed, his shoulders slumping forward. He spoke without meeting Glimmer’s eyes.

“It’s, ah . . .” he began, “After, well, after what happened, most people in our tribe don’t trust yours anymore. Neither does the Northern Tribe.”

He turned away. Glimmer’s stomach lurched, and a lump formed at the base of her throat. It always came back to that day. No matter how hard she tried to forget it, the universe wouldn’t let her. Hadn’t it been enough to lose her dad? Did it have to keep coming back back to haunt her for the rest of her life?

“What happened ten years ago?” Adora wondered.

Bow shook his head and ran a hand across his throat. Glimmer was grateful; she didn’t think she could explain it right now without crying, and she  _ hated _ crying in front of people. Adora opened her mouth to press the issue, but Sea Hawk began to herd them along. They walked the maze of rafts in silence until he halted in front of another, larger building.

“Here we are.”

Two guards stood chatting on either side of the doors. The building was bigger than any other they’d seen in the village, and a woven tapestry bearing the crest of the Water Tribe hung above the entrance. The wooden walls were painted blue with swirling waves of white and teal rolling across its base, and windows set with blue sea glass hung open on all sides. 

“So Sea Hawk,” Bow said, “Before we go in . . . What’s the chief like?”

Sea Hawk turned to him, his energy rekindled and eyes sparkling with a surprisingly boyish wonder. He pressed closer to Bow and exclaimed,

“She’s the coolest, most wonderful, beautiful woman in the world! And . . . she’s my girlfriend!” 

He giggled, and Adora noticed the guards roll their eyes. She caught one of them in a glance and immediately regretted it when he took in her clothes and narrowed his eyes, his knuckles whitening around his spear. She ducked behind Bow as Sea Hawk continued his tirade about how absolutely amazing in every way the chief was, until Glimmer finally had enough.

“Alright!” she shouted, “Alright, we get it! Can we just meet her now?”

_ Just because the people don’t want me here, doesn’t mean the chief will be unreasonable, _ she thought. Hoped.

“Right this way!” Sea Hawk exclaimed and swept past the guards who made no move to stop him and seemed annoyed that they didn’t. They kept their eyes on Adora as the trio followed Sea Hawk into the building.

He led them down a short hallway that opened up into an enormous half-circle room. A large hide rug, stitched together by deft fingers, was spread across the floor, and three men sat cross-legged around it. They turned their heads when Sea Hawk entered the room.

At the end of the rug, the floor rose a few inches and formed a platform, and on it, at the head of the circle, sat a young woman upon her own hide mat. Her legs were crossed, an elbow on one knee, and her face lay in the palm of her hand. A necklace of crowded shark teeth dangled from her neck, and at her side rested a trident carved from bleached bone. Glimmer swallowed.

“I have returned!” Sea Hawk announced, bounding across the room. 

He stomped right through the circle of elders and flung himself down beside the girl on the platform. He stretched his body out, bent one leg, and propped his head up with an arm. 

“I am sure you must have been so lonely without me, but fear not for I have returned to you, my lovely Mermista!”

“Uuuuuuuuuugh,” the chief of the Central Water Tribe groaned, and buried her face in her hands.

Bow leaned in toward Glimmer and Adora and whispered,

“Didn’t he say they were dating . . .?”

“Maybe she didn’t get the memo?” Adora whispered back.

“Sea Hawk, can’t you see we’re in the middle of a  _ meeting _ ?” Mermista snapped, not raising her head.

“I’m sorry, my love, but I just couldn’t wait to be reunited. See the truth is . . .  _ I’ve _ been so lonely without  _ you! _ ”

Sea Hawk threw himself across Mermista’s lap like a swooning beauty from a romantic poem Bow might have heard recited back home. Bow didn’t know too much about what it was like to date someone, but he didn’t think this was the standard. At least not, y’know, in public.

“Oh my gosh you were gone for  _ one _ day!”

Mermista groaned again and rolled Sea Hawk off the platform and onto the rug. The three councilors seated on the floor scooted back to avoid collision, mixtures of bewilderment and exasperated fury on their faces. Glimmer’s head was reeling. 

_ Who barges into council meeting like this?! _

Her mom would’ve  _ flipped _ .

“Sea Hawk!” snapped one of the elders, a short, stocky man with an impressive beard and even more impressive eyebrows, “We are discussing important business!”

The other elders murmured in agreement. He turned his glare onto Chief Mermista.

“I don’t understand why you allow this- this complete  _ fool _ to come and go as he pleases! A real chief would-”

“Alright,” Mermista said, suddenly leaning back and folding her arms behind her head as she dipped to the floor. She spoke over the irate councilman, her face pointed to the ceiling, 

“I  _ guess _ cuz Sea Hawk’s back, and he’s brought some random people with him including some girl from the Fire Nation, we should continue this meeting tomorrow.”

That shut everybody up, and all three of the old men turned to stare at Adora who once again wished that she could blink onto another plane of existence. She had been so sure the chief hadn’t noticed them come in with all of Sea Hawk’s prancing around, but clearly she’d underestimated her. 

_ It hasn’t even been a week out of the army, and you’re already slipping _ , she berated herself.

Just because these people were waterbenders, didn’t mean they were allies like Glimmer and Bow. The fact that they seemed to want nothing to do with Glimmer was a testament to that. When one of the other councilman finally clicked into place that two of them weren’t from the Fire Nation but the Water Tribe, he angrily announced,

“What does the Southern Tribe think it’s doing, sending people here? You have no right!”

Glimmer cringed like she’d been slapped, and Bow stepped forward. He didn’t care how upset these people were, he wouldn’t let them talk to Glimmer like that! The Southern Water Tribe had suffered too; Glimmer lost her dad ten years ago, and Angella her husband. He opened his mouth to shout, but then from the front of the room came,

“Oh my  _ gosh _ ! I said this meeting is  _ over _ ! You’re all getting on my nerves!”

Mermista raised an arm and waved her hand, shooing the councilors. Two began to protest, but the third, the one who had snapped at Mermista, rose to his feet and stormed out. The others’ voices died down and they quietly rose to their feet and followed their companion, looking equally indignant. They glared as they passed by. Adora glared back.

When the elders had exited the room, Mermista let out another long,

“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuugh.”

She lay still, back bent over the rise of the platform and her heels resting on the lower floor. They were all silent until, a moment later, she pushed herself back up, crossed her arms, placed one ankle over the other, and stared directly at them.

“Okay, who’re you?”

“Um, oh-Uh,” Glimmer cleared her throat, “I’m Glimmer, I’m, um . . . I’m the daughter of Chief Angella of the . . . of the Southern Water Tribe.”

She’d always imagined this moment, standing in front of the chief of the Northern Water Tribe. In her fantasies, her voice was strong, and she stood tall, commanded respect. The northern chief smiled and threw their arms wide to welcome her, praised her for finally coming to bridge the gap left so long to fester between their tribes. 

Instead, she shook a bit, and her voice was small. Mermista didn’t smile. If anything, she looked bored. She lay a cheek in her palm again and sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose between her fingers. Sea Hawk shifted up onto the platform beside her.

“Why did you come here?” Mermista groaned, her nose still pinched, eyes closed.

“We . . . We were on our way to the Northern Tribe . . .”

_ Why is everyone here such a jerk?! _

Glimmer scowled and clenched her hands into fists, felt her nails dig into her palms. She cleared her throat.

“We didn’t come on purpose! We couldn’t have considering, uh, we didn’t even know you all  _ existed! _ ”

Her voice had gone shrill, and she heard Bow whisper behind her,

“Breathe.”

But she didn’t want to breathe! She wanted to scream. Why had Sea Hawk brought them here, where they clearly weren’t wanted? And how could this girl sit in front of her and not even  _ care _ that they were here all the way from the  _ South Pole?! _

“That’s cuz we didn’t tell you we were here, duh.”

“But  _ why not! _ ” Glimmer shouted.

But beneath the anger was a sense of relief. If even the chief said so, then her mother hadn’t been keeping it from her after all!

It wasn’t quite enough to dampen the fury rising in her throat like bile.

“Geez,” Mermista said, “Could you, like, not shout. I’ve already got a major headache.”

“What is your problem?” Adora demanded, “Glimmer came all the way from the Southern Tribe! She’s trying to reconnect!”

“First of all, bold of you to assume we want to reconnect. Second of all, why should I trust anyone who brings someone from the Fire Nation into my tribe?”

Adora flinched.

“I brought them here after their ship was destroyed,” Sea Hawk said.

Mermista turned to him and narrowed her eyes. He had the good sense to scoot back a few inches and raise his hands in a placating gesture.

“Now Mermista, if I hadn’t been there then Glimmer, Bow, and Adora would’ve disappeared like everybody else!”

“I told everyone to stay _ away _ from there! That includes  _ you! _ ”

“Yes, but consider this: I am the greatest captain of all time, and it is my duty to try to protect our tribe on your behalf! Everything was perfectly all right - I fought off fifty iguana-sharks and eight sea monsters with my bare hands-”

“There were definitely no sea monsters,” Bow cut in, “But, uh, what was that thing about people disappearing?”

“Uuuuuuuuuugh!” Mermista flopped onto her back again, “I can’t  _ believe _ you went out there  _ again! _ ”

“Do you know what attacked us?” Glimmer demanded.

Mermista ran her hands down her face, pulling at the skin beneath her eyes and groaning. 

“We think it’s some kind of spirit,” Sea Hawk translated, “Since no one’s gotten a good look at it, and it strikes out of nowhere. But I won’t stand for it! I’m going to hunt the beast and protect the tribe!”

“You can’t hunt a  _ spirit _ , Sea Hawk,” Mermista drawled, “It’s  _ incorporeal. _ ”

“How . . . How many people has it taken?” Bow asked, his stomach flipping.

“So far,” Sea Hawk said, “Fifteen.”

“ _ Fifteen? _ ” Bow squeaked, “Ohhh that’s really bad.”

Glimmer’s mind raced. She didn’t come all this way to give up now. If the Central Tribe didn’t have a reason to trust them, then she would give it one.

“You asked why we’re traveling with Adora, even though she’s from the Fire Nation,” Glimmer said, causing Adora to whirl and look at her with wide eyes, “It’s because Adora is the Avatar!”

Sea Hawk and Mermista were silent, turning Glimmer’s words over in their heads. Mermista propped herself up on her elbows and examined Adora with a raised eyebrow.

“The Avatar? Didn’t the Avatar cycle break, like, decades ago?”

“We thought so too, until we met Adora. She  _ is _ the Avatar - we saw her bend all four elements!”

“Glimmer, I-”

“ _ And _ she can fix your spirit problem.”

“I can  _ what _ ?!” Adora grabbed Glimmer’s shoulders, “Glimmer I don’t know  _ anything _ about spirits!”

“Not yet! But the Avatar is the bridge between our world and the spirit world! If anyone can fix this problem, it’s you!”

Adora turned pleadingly to Bow.

“Glimmer has a point,” he said slowly, to Adora’s dismay, “All the legends and history books say the Avatar can communicate with spirits. They usually acted as a kind of mediator between the worlds.”

“But- But . . .”

Adora’s mind churned. She thought she might vomit. She didn’t know how to  _ be  _ the Avatar yet! Learning to bend, that made sense. She’d accepted that. But talking to  _ spirits? _ She’d never heard of that being one of the Avatar’s jobs - but then again, the Fire Nation said very little about the Avatar, other than to slander the previous one. 

Mara. She already suspected it was a spirit speaking to her back in the temple. Had it been drawn to her because she was the Avatar? It talked about Mara, so it must have. And it spoke to her again, on the beach. Goosebumps rose on Adora’s arms. Was she going to be haunted forever?

Glimmer shook her slightly.

“Adora?”

Her eyes were big and pleading. Adora swallowed. There was a lot at stake here. If she  _ could _ solve this spirit problem for the Central Tribe, then maybe . . . maybe Glimmer could rekindle the relationship between the tribes. It was another, unexpected ally for the Rebellion. She knew the Fire Nation army; without allies, there was no way they could win this war. Glimmer’s words on the beach echoed in her head.

_ You don’t have to do it alone. _

She took a deep breath and turned to Mermista.

“I . . . I don’t know what I’m doing,” she admitted, “But . . . I  _ am _ the Avatar. I can try- I  _ will _ try.”

Mermista regarded her with a mixture of doubt and . . . hope? She was hard to read, but Adora thought she saw it there. Sea Hawk looked expectantly at Mermista. She met his eyes for a moment and sighed.

“Okay,” she said, “Fine. Sea Hawk can introduce you to some people who can explain what they know. Now, get out.”

Sea Hawk leapt up and raced to Adora’s side. He slung an arm around her shoulders.

“Excellent!” he exclaimed, “I sense a wonderful adventure ahead of us! Onward!”

And then he turned and hauled her down the hallway and out into the streets, Bow following right after, eager to leave this awkward meeting behind. Glimmer lingered for a moment, watching Mermista. Mermista watched her back.

“After we help you,” Glimmer finally said, “Will you . . . will you answer my questions?”

Mermista shrugged.

“You probably won’t like all the answers.”

Glimmer swallowed though her mouth was dry.

“That’s okay.”

The chief of the Central Water Tribe shrugged again and then shut her eyes and leaned back once more. Glimmer sensed that she wasn’t going to move again for some time. 

She turned and followed her friends, mind racing, still trying to reconcile all she had seen and learned over the past few hours. Her mother was right; it wouldn’t be as easy as she’d hoped to reunite the tribes. But she had to do what her mother wouldn’t. She had to  _ try _ .


	7. Book 1: Water - The Weeping Ocean

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi folks! Thanks for your patience - I know this update is a day late. I'm really busy right now, so I wasn't quite ready to post this on Friday. I also wasn't able to respond to your lovely comments on the last chapter, but I really do appreciate them!
> 
> Unfortunately, I'm going to be quite busy over the next few weeks, so I'm going to officially take a mini-hiatus. Fear not, I am not abandoning the project! I just won't have time to get the next chapter all written and edited and up to snuff! So, instead of Feb 28th, my next update will be March 13th. I'll just be skipping one upload. 
> 
> Thanks so much for reading and commenting!! I will definitely get back to responding as soon as I can! And thank you once again for your patience!
> 
> PS: Rating changed to T due to language

Smog streamed into the sky above Catra as she passed beneath the iron smokestack that rose from the back of the rig. She fingered the captain’s badge on her uniform as she strode across the construction. The wind off the ocean whipped her hair into her eyes and carried the shouts of the workers up from below. She approached a railing where the rest of her squad stood staring down at the lower deck. It swarmed with men and women pulling carts loaded with coal.

“Well, that meeting was useless,” Catra announced as she stepped up between Scorpia and Lonnie, “The guy in charge is an  _ idiot _ .”

“What does  _ any _ of this got to do with finding Adora, anyway?” Lonnie demanded, crossing her arms and leaning back against the rail.

Catra rolled her eyes, though she’d been thinking the same thing herself.

“I  _ told _ you,” she said, “Shadow Weaver got a report that workers on the rig have been going missing, and we suspect the Rebellion has been picking them off. If we can find where the Rebellion is taking them, we may find Adora with the other prisoners of war.”

“Makes sense to me!” Scorpia exclaimed.

“What if they pick  _ us _ off?” Kyle asked, nervously twisting his fingers around.

“Just don’t be an idiot,” Catra said, “And you won’t find out.”

She turned her back to them and looked out to the horizon. She didn’t mind lying to her squad, but she wasn’t sure that she could pull off finding Adora without letting it slip that she was the Avatar. The real mission here wasn’t to find prisoners of war; it was to get a hold of someone from the Rebellion who could tell her what she wanted to know. 

“So you didn’t get any good information from the captain?” Lonnie asked.

Catra turned back and shook her head.

“He couldn’t tell me anything that we didn’t already know. Every couple of days, people working the night watch disappear. There’s nothing left behind, and they’ve never been able to find any tracks or signs of a break in. That’s it.”

She scowled, staring past her comrades. How was she supposed to find Adora like this? She’d ridden the high of her promotion for a few days, but, now that she was out on her mission, she couldn’t shake the feeling that Shadow Weaver just wanted her out of the way.

“Aw, come on, it’ll be okay!” Scorpia said, putting a hand on Catra’s shoulder, “I mean, with all of us together, we’ll be able to figure anything out!”

Catra shrugged off Scorpia’s hand and glared.

_ I don’t  _ need  _ any of you. You’re only here as long as you’re useful. _

And so far Scorpia had been  _ anything _ but useful. She talked way too much, and she was the clumsiest person Catra had ever met. On the trip over, she had broken no less than three bowls, nearly knocked a crew member overboard, and almost let their maps blow away. Catra didn’t understand how someone like Scorpia could possibly have been promoted. In fact, she had a hard time comprehending how Scorpia hadn’t been sent packing halfway through training. She ground her teeth and looked away again.

“Tonight,” she said, “We’re going to stake out and look for anything unusual. If you see anyone suspicious, don’t hesitate to take them down - alive. I have questions for them.”

“Roger that, Captain,” Lonnie replied with a casual salute, “We gonna get anyone here to help us out?”

Catra shook her head and waved off the idea. The rig wasn’t a military base - the only person approximating a ranked official on it was the unimpressive head of the operation, a guy named Zhi. He was a captain in name only - he didn’t have any formal training. When Catra had asked what steps he’d taken to ensure the safety of the rig, he’d prattled on about how it was hard to stop an enemy you couldn’t see. She rolled her eyes. 

The rig was a little less than midway between the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom, and it wasn’t particularly important in the grand scheme of things - just one cog in the massive Fire Nation war machine. There was no need for military personnel to hang around beyond regular inspections.

_ So why are we here? _

If she’d had it  _ her _ way, they would have returned to that Earth Kingdom village and forced the information out of them. Where did the Rebellion take Adora? How many of them are there? Who knows the truth about the Avatar? It was good practice to tie up loose ends like that. This wasn’t a secret Catra wanted spread around. That was something she and Shadow Weaver could agree on at least.

“I hope Adora’s okay,” Kyle murmured, leaning against the railing and letting an arm dangle over the side, “You don’t think they’re hurting her, do you?”

Rogelio laid a hand on Kyle’s shoulder. They were a laughable disproportionate pair - Kyle scrawny and short with a habit of shrinking himself even more by hunching, and Rogelio, tall, broad-shouldered, who used his presence to communicate more than his words. Kyle sighed and looked at Rogelio.

“Yeah, you’re right. She’s strong.”

Catra never understood how anyone could tell what Rogelio was thinking. It was a skill she had never mastered - not that she’d tried very hard. They were all just background characters in the story she’d been living with Adora.  _ She _ was supposed to be the one beside Catra. This was supposed to be their adventure. 

She didn’t  _ need _ anyone else. She turned and walked away without a word, mind turning over a plan for the evening. She would catch one of these rebels, and, when she did, she’d wring out everything they knew about Adora. And then she’d make them wish they’d never  _ dared _ to cross the Fire Nation. 

* * *

Bow, Adora, and Glimmer followed Sea Hawk across a bridge that connected the chief’s hut to a raft of small market stalls, each staffed by a person who stared and whispered as they walked by. A boy stood beside a barrel of colorful fish taller than he was, several rings of bright white shells tied around his arms, jangling as he reached for a fish. It was very hot, and Glimmer kept wiping sweat out of her eyes, her tunic sleeves rolled up as far as they would go. 

“How many people live in the village?” Bow asked, stepping ahead to keep pace with Sea Hawk.

“Oh, only around two hundred. We were fewer when we first came here of course, but, in addition to children, we’ve also acquired a few wanderers and escapees from Fire Nation prison vessels.”

“And the fifteen people . . . They’re just . . . gone?” Adora asked.

Sea Hawk nodded sadly, lifting a hand in greeting to a woman who wielded a spear in one hand and carried a net full of crabs in the other. It seemed like Sea Hawk knew everyone, but with only two hundred people that wasn’t too hard. Adora had spent most of her life in the capital or on Ember Island with the other aristocrats in the summers. It was hard to believe that people lived somewhere so . . . tiny. And now their population was shrinking, their friends and family disappearing.

“Do you really think it’s a spirit that’s doing it?” Bow asked.

“I didn’t for a long time,” Sea Hawk admitted, “In fact, I only became sure when I saw your boat go under. I didn’t see the spirit itself, but the way the sea was behaving . . . it was completely unnatural.”

“Has  _ anybody _ seen the spirit?” Glimmer asked.

“A handful of people have reported seeing strange things - we’re going to speak to one of them right now. Mermista and I couldn’t make anything of it, but maybe you’ll have some insight!”

_ Probably not, _ Adora thought glumly,  _ There’s not really a manual for this. _

She felt sicker than she had on the boat, thinking of trying to commune with the spirits. At least she had  _ seen _ bending before, and, while she wasn’t any good at it yet, she knew what it felt like to bend air and water at least. But talking to spirits . . . She’d never seen anyone do that before. And she’d never met a spirit herself.

_ Except for the spirit in the temple. And again, on the beach. _

She shuddered. 

They crossed several more bridges until they came to a raft dotted with just a few huts, their windows all open to let the breeze through and relieve some of the oppressive humidity. Glimmer fanned herself with the front of her shirt. 

_ How did everyone go from living at the  _ North Pole _ to this?  _

She noticed then that most people had a fan hanging from their belt, and those whose hands weren’t otherwise occupied had dedicated themselves to creating a personal breeze. Somehow, the fans lifted the disheartened mood that had fallen over her. These were still her people, even if they didn’t want to be, and they had something in common with her. 

They couldn’t stand this damn  _ heat _ !

Sea Hawk pulled her from her thoughts when he stopped in front of a hut and knocked on the door. An old man opened it, a teenage boy standing right at his side with a fierce expression on his face.

“Be careful, Grandpa,” the boy said.

“You must calm down, Unna. It’s only Sea Hawk.”

“Grandma told me that spirits can take the form of humans! They trick you into thinking they’re your friends!”

The old man sighed and waved them inside. He left the door open, the sounds of chatter from passersby leaking into the room. Bow smiled at Unna and got a scowl in return. 

_ Yeesh, _ he thought,  _ What’s his problem. _

The main room of the hut was humbly decorated. There was a mat, a low table beneath a window, and several cushions stacked against a wall. The only exception to the modesty was a massive tapestry that hung across from the front door. It depicted a city of ice on the sea, a full moon glowing above, and the waves twisting into the shapes of whales. Glimmer stared at it.

“The Northern Water Tribe,” the old man said, his face crinkling as he smiled, “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

Glimmer nodded. 

“You must be the visitors from the Southern Tribe,” the old man said, “News travels fast in this town.”

“Yes, allow me to introduce them!” Sea Hawk exclaimed, “This is Bow, and this is Adora, and  _ this _ is Glimmer, the daughter of the Southern chief!”

Sea Hawk put his hands on Glimmer’s shoulders and nudged her closer to the old man. Glimmer wished he hadn’t said anything; she could only handle so much rejection in a day. But the old man didn’t look at her with the same disdain as the waterbending teacher, though his smile did fade. He looked curious, and a little bit sad. The boy, however, fixed her with such a burning glare she thought she might combust.

“Adora, Bow, Glimmer, this is Okki and his grandson Unna. Okki saw the spirit that’s been taking people a few days ago, when . . .”

“When it took my wife, yes,” Okki said with another sigh, “So that’s what this visit is about then. I don’t have anything new to tell you. I wish I did.”

“Well, Mr. Okki,” Bow said, “You see, Adora here is the Avatar! Since she’s the spirit bridge, we thought we might be able to help!”

“The Avatar,” Okki repeated, leaning forward to look more closely at Adora. He stood with the slight hunch of old age, but he still matched her in height.

“No way!” Unna exclaimed, “That’s impossible!”

“Nothing is impossible,” Sea Hawk said, throwing an arm around Unna’s shoulders, “Why have I ever told you about the time-”

Unna slipped free from Sea Hawk’s grasp with a grimace.

“Please don’t, Sea Hawk.”

“The Avatar,” Okki breathed again, sending a shiver down Adora’s spine.

The way people looked at her . . . it was almost like hunger, like she was the first scrap of food they’d seen in a long time. She knew it was because of the things they’d seen, and that she was the first real hope they’d had in a long time, but that didn’t make it any less . . . unnerving. 

_ It’s like they’re the dragons, and I’m their meal. _

She’d always liked stories about dragons, but they were all dead. Then again, the Avatar was also supposed to be dead, so maybe one day dragons would come back to life as well.

_ One miracle at a time, Adora. _

“I cannot believe I’ve lived to see this day,” he whispered, “My wife . . . do you really think you can find her?”

Adora swallowed.

“I’m going to try,” she said, “I’m new to all of this, but I’ll do my best.”

Okki nodded and smiled again, wider now. He looked much nicer when he smiled. He put a hand on her shoulder. People were always putting hands on shoulders. It was somehow comforting that this gesture was universal, Fire Nation or Water Tribe. 

“That is all we can ever ask of another person,” he said, then, “Unna, please fetch me a seat.”

Unna flew through a doorway to another room so quickly that Bow thought he might’ve turned invisible, but a moment later he returned with a wooden stool and placed it beside his grandfather. He helped Okki lower himself onto the seat, then stood just behind his shoulder, tensed like a monkey-lion ready to spring. 

“Now,” Okki said, “I am old and my eyes are not what they used to be, as Unna can tell you, when I ask him where something is only to learn that it’s a foot in front of me.”

He shot his grandson a wry smile, but Unna didn’t seem to be in the mood. Bow couldn’t blame him; losing a family member did things to a person. At least Bow knew what had happened to his.

“Three nights ago, my wife, Rinara, went out to get some air. We had all the doors and windows open because it’s so hot, which is the only reason I saw anything at all. She walked the length of the village, all the way to the southern edge. We do that walk together every morning, so it was safe enough in the moonlight - familiar. She had woken me when she got up, so I was waiting for her to return before I tried to go back to sleep. That’s when I heard an odd sound.”

“What kind of sound?” Bow asked, leaning forward with wide eyes.

“It was a low sound, mournful, like some great beast was crying beneath the surface. I sat up and pulled myself up to look out the window, and I saw . . . something, in the distance. It looked like a giant tail with six fins, but it was faded, translucent. I could see the stars in the sky  _ through _ it. And then the tail crashed down, but no water rose up. I raced outside and down to where I knew Rinara had gone, but when I arrived she wasn’t there, and on the dock . . . ”

Okki let out a forlorn sigh and reached into a pocket. He held out his hand. In his palm was a necklace. At its center was an intricately carved disc depicting the moon above the ocean.

“I found this. And that’s when I knew that it had taken her, like the others.”

“What is it?” Glimmer murmured, reaching out and running a fingertip along the stone.

“I made it for her when I proposed. In our tribe, we make necklaces for the woman we wish to marry. She wears it from the moment she agrees, to show she is betrothed. Rinara never took it off.”

“I’m . . . I’m so sorry,” Adora whispered.

Glimmer swallowed, feeling now that it had been rather rude to touch it, but Okki didn’t seem to mind. He ran his thumb across its surface in a gentle circle. Bow wanted to leave the old man in peace to mourn, but something didn’t quite add up in his mind.

“You said it took her from the village. Whatever attacked us was out at sea.”

Sea Hawk nodded and said,

“Yes, Rinara is actually the only one who was taken from the village itself. She’s also the most recent disappearance. Mermista is worried that it will keep coming closer and closer.”

“You don’t think that will really happen, do you?” Unna asked, “Would it . . . would it destroy our home?”

“I won’t let that happen,” Adora insisted, “I promise. I’ll . . . I’ll find a way to fix whatever has broken between you and the spirit world.”

Okki nodded and reached out, taking Adora’s hands in his. They were spotted, his hands, and calloused, but they were warm, and Adora did not pull away.

“The Avatar has endured for thousands and thousands of generations,” he said, “You are not the first and you will not be the last. Remember that all that you do, you have done before.”

_ All I do, I have done before . . . _

“Thank you, Mr. Okki,” Adora said, wondering if old people had to practice their grand, dramatic pronouncements of wisdom or if it was something that just happened when your hair turned gray.

Either way, she  _ was _ truly grateful.

She left with the others, following silently behind as they talked about what Okki had said. Just how big was this spirit? Did it look like a specific animal, or something wholly unworldly? Did it lure its victims toward it somehow with the cry Okki described? Did it matter, since the Great Sea Hawk would defeat it no matter its powers?

She remained silent as Sea Hawk took them to each person who claimed to have seen the spirit. Nothing they said contradicted Okki, but it was clear that the old man had seen more than anyone else. One thing was consistent though: everyone had heard the same low wailing. 

It took several hours to speak with everyone, and when they finished they sat with their legs dipped in the water, Sea Hawk chattering on about some past adventure while they nibbled on seal jerky and brightly colored fruit that Glimmer had never seen before. Bow and Adora said they were called bananas. She flicked a piece down to the fishes that swarmed around her toes. She didn’t have much appetite after the stories they’d heard. 

Sea Hawk finished one story and was about to launch into another when a man strode up and loomed over them. With a start, Glimmer realized it was the angry counselor with the giant eyebrows. 

“Sea Hawk,” the counselor said, his voice level but his eyes blazing, “I have more important matters for you than babysitting.”

“ _ Chief _ Mermista told me to help with their investigation, Taka,” Sea Hawk said with a smile, “And what kind of host would we be if we left our guests to fend for themselves!”

“It’s okay, Sea Hawk!” Glimmer burst out before Counselor Taka could respond, “We know our way around now! Really, we’re fine!”

Sea Hawk’s face and mustache fell.

“Oh, but I was just about tell you about the time I-”

“You can tell us later,” Adora assured him as Glimmer shot her a relieved look, “We’ll keep thinking! We showed up out of nowhere, so we definitely don’t want to get in the way of important council business.”

Adora looked at Taka and bowed her head. The counselor huffed and glared, but Sea Hawk stood after a dramatic sigh and bid them farewell for now, with promises to continue his tale at dinner. He followed Taka across the nearest bridge.

“Thank goodness,” Glimmer moaned, putting her face in her hands, “I couldn’t hear myself  _ think _ with him talking.”

“He’s just being nice,” Bow said, but his own relieved sigh betrayed him, “But, uh, yeah. Kind of hard to brainstorm.”

“Glimmer, Bow,” Adora said. They looked at her.

“Do you know how to meditate?”

Glimmer cringed. Her mother had  _ tried _ to teach her, but, frankly, she was absolutely awful at it. She could never get her mind to stop. There was just too much to think about, too much to do. How could she just sit around for the sake of sitting around? It seemed like a waste of time. Of course, if she could actually  _ do _ it, maybe she wouldn’t hate it quite so much.

She was glad when Bow saved her from admitting her failings.

“Yeah, actually. My dads taught me how.”

“Can you show me?”

Adora knew her mother meditated, from time to time, always behind closed doors. She would sweep into the room and decree to Adora and Catra that not a noise was to be made. Usually, they would leave the house entirely, wandering the neighborhood for at least an hour before deciding it was probably safe to return. Adora had no idea what the whole thing actually entailed, since it wasn’t really something the military taught.

“Uh, sure. But why?”

“It’s something Okki said: ‘All you do, you’ve done before.’”

“Oh!” Glimmer exclaimed, eyes lighting up, “Of course! You should be able to commune with your past lives!”

Adora nodded. That was one bit of the legend she actually remembered.

“That’s genius!” Bow exclaimed, “Maybe they can help us!”

They sat across from each other, cross-legged, hands turned up on their knees, like the Avatar statue Adora had mirrored in the temple. Glimmer sat beside them, looking from one face to the other.

“Now,” Bow said, “Meditating is all about letting your thoughts pass through you. You don’t want any one thought to take control - just acknowledge it as it comes and then let it float away.”

Adora closed her eyes, listening to Bow’s quiet, even voice.

“Breathe deeply and with intention. Feel the air come in through your nose and push out through your mouth. Whatever you’re feeling, try to let it fade away. There’s only you in this moment, breathing.”

_ It’s a lot harder than it sounds, not thinking,  _ Adora tried not to think.

But as Bow spoke, she felt her muscles start to relax, her body sink slightly further into the ground. She focused on the breathing. In, out. Cyclical. Like the Avatar - like her. 

_ Breathing is kind of like airbending. _

In. Out. Again. Again. Always again. The air circling into her lungs, sustaining her, giving her life, and then circling back out, life for somebody else to breathe. 

_ Adora _ .

“Ahhh!” Adora shouted, flailing and tipping backward.

“What?!” Glimmer shouted, “What’s wrong?!”

“I . . . I heard something.”

Adora’s chest heaved as she propped herself on her elbows and looked at the others.

“Someone said my name.”

“Someone . . . like a spirit?” Glimmer leaned forward eagerly, “One of your past lives?!”

“I dunno!”

“Well try again, see if you can hear anything else!” Bow exclaimed.

“Okay, okay!” 

Adora shifted back into place and steadied her breathing again. Bow watched her, his brow furrowed in concentration. He’d never had any of the great big revelations his fathers claimed people had when meditating, but there was too much historical evidence to question that it  _ did _ happen. Plenty of people, not just the Avatar, had visions or connected with the spirit plane. Or at least they used to.

They waited. And waited. After ten minutes, it was clear that Adora had found her focus. After thirty, it was obvious she’d completely lost all sense of her bodily existence. She didn’t move to wipe the sweat away before it dripped into her eyes. She didn’t flinch when Glimmer sneezed. She didn’t so much as twitch when a fly landed on the tip of her finger.

“How does she  _ do _ that?” Glimmer whispered, “You’re not even that good at it, and you’ve done it  _ tons _ of times!”

“I guess it’s just an Avatar thing,” Bow said, slight awe in his voice.

The awe faded after another half hour passed, and Adora  _ still _ had not opened her eyes. Glimmer paced, circling around them and swatting away mosquitos. Bow took out his arrows and began to assess the damage to them, making a mental list of all the materials he would need to fix them. After another thirty minutes, he wandered into the market and returned with a small sack of twine, a small whetstone, and a few rods of dense wood. Glimmer began to toss water back and forth in her hands, trying to twist it into interesting shapes.

The sun was low in the sky when Adora finally opened her eyes. They were glassy, but her focus quickly returned when Glimmer blurted out,

“FINALLY!”

“Well?” Bow exclaimed, leaning toward Adora, “Anything?”

“Black water.”

“What?” said Glimmer, dropping to her knees beside her.

“I heard the voice again, and all it said was black water.”

They were all leaning in so close now that their three noses could touch, and Adora felt their warm breath on her chin. Life. 

_ Man, meditation is weird,  _ she thought, now that she was allowed to think again.

“Alright, that’s better than nothing,” Bow said, his voice low.

There was no reason to be so quiet, but it felt like something important had happened here, and speaking too loudly might chase it away. Adora nodded, then glanced up at the sky and gaped. How long had she been sitting here?

“Let’s go find Chief Mermista and Sea Hawk,” Glimmer said, “Maybe it means something to them.”

* * *

Catra watched the sun dip below the horizon, the last beams of evening light fading as the world around her turned purple and blue. She stood at the fore of the rig’s top deck, wind off the sea whipping her wild hair around her face as she surveyed the water. A half moon hung low in the sky, and the waves swept against the iron sides of the rig, a dull rhythm beating in the back of her head. In the low light, beneath the shadow of the rig, the ocean was black with soot and sludge. 

On the lower deck, her squad stood, hidden, at each of the four corners of the rig. There was no way to know when the rebels would strike next, but Catra had a feeling about tonight. She couldn’t explain it, but there was a tension in the air, the kind that couldn’t help but become  _ something _ . She wiped a strand of hair from her eyes and put a foot on the lower rung of the railing in front of her. 

She spared a glance down at the lower deck and saw one of the guards pass beneath her. She’d insisted that the captain keep the normal rounds. 

After all, she needed bait. 

The next hour passed very slowly, but Catra did not shift even an inch. She was too busy watching, listening, waiting for any sign of something amiss. There was a dense patch of islands to the east of the rig, but only open water immediately surrounding it. There was no way for anyone to hide if they wanted to get close. Any minute now, she would see it - a rebel boat, making its way toward them.

Or maybe not a boat. Maybe it would be a suspicious mist, the kind conjured up by waterbenders. Or else a dark patch under the water, some hidden bubble ferrying them to the side. Catra had run through all the possibilities in her mind. There was no way for them to slip past her. She was focused. She was intent. Nothing could distract her from -

“Hey, Catra-”

Scorpia’s voice shattered the stillness in Catra’s mind and body, and she whirled around and grabbed the front of the massive girl’s shirt, rising to her tip-toes so that their eyes could meet.

“Why aren’t you at your post,” Catra growled through grit teeth, “I told you to  _ stay put _ .”

Scorpia rubbed the back of her head with one of her enormous hands.

“Well, uh, there’s . . . there’s something weird going on down there. Not really sure what to do about it, so I thought I’d come ask-”

“You thought you’d  _ come ask _ ?” Catra nearly screeched, but she managed to keep her voice low, “Why didn’t you sound the signal?!”

She let go of Scorpia’s shirt and darted across the deck.

_ I swear, if she’s cost me Adora- _

Scorpia jogged up beside her.

“You said only to sound the signal if we saw rebels!”

Catra skid to a halt.

“You abandoned your post and came all the way up here to bug me, and you haven’t even seen  _ rebels _ ?”

“Like I said, uh, hehe, before . . . There’s something  _ weird _ going on,” Scorpia lowered her voice even more, “Like . . . really weird.”

“Weird. How,” Catra ground out, her teeth clenched so tight it felt like her jaw might crack under the pressure.

“Well, while I was waiting around, I was kind of watching the fish - oh I actually saw a whole pod of dolphins! It was really amazing - but then, all of a sudden, all of the fish just swam off.”

_ I’m going to kill her _ .

“You came up here to tell me about the  _ fish _ ?! What is wrong with you?!”

“Oh, nothing! I feel fine! But the fish suddenly all scattered like they were afraid of something! I think you should probably come look-”

“No!” Catra grabbed Scorpia’s collar and yanked her down this time, so that the tips of their noses were touching, “I’m not going to come look at some damn fish!”

“But Catra-”

“I gave you an _order_! Even if you _are_ a captain, _I’m_ in charge of this mission, and you listen to _me_! If you can’t even do something as easy as _stay at your post_ then you can just-”

There was a crash, and the entire rig shook beneath them. Catra stumbled, and Scorpia reached out and caught her before she could fall. The rig shook again, and then an awful, drawn-out creak of bending metal wailed through the night air. It was followed immediately by another wail, this one terribly deep and low, like the ocean itself might be moaning. On the lower deck, people started shouting. Someone screamed.

“Where did you see the fish?” Catra asked, her face pale in the moonlight. 

“Follow me.”

Scorpia led her down the steps to the lower deck, both of them latching onto the railing as another shudder wracked through the entire structure. All around them, people were running, trying to figure out what was going on, and if they were about to sink into the ocean. Anyone who had been asleep was now very much awake. Catra heard the captain screaming something, but it got lost beneath another low, guttural cry.

“What the hell is that,” Catra said.

“I-I dunno,” Scorpia said, “But I don’t-” she let out an anxious giggle, “I don’t think it’s good.”

“Oh, really? And here I thought it was friendly!” Catra shouted at her as the rig shook again. 

They bumped their way through the stream of frantic, pajama-clad workers until they reached the railing of the deck, grasping onto it tightly as the floor lurched. Catra grabbed the back of Scorpia’s shirt when she threatened to take a nose-dive straight into the churning surf below. The quiet of the night had completely shattered, and the waves beneath them were roiling despite the clear skies. The wind had stopped, but the sea still twisted.

_ What the fuck is going on?! _

Catra’s mind raced, hurtling over itself in a desperate attempt to chase down an explanation, but none came. She saw nothing but the angry ocean. She heard nothing but rending metal and that low, insistent moaning. 

And then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a light. She twisted, and her breath caught in her throat. Rising out of the water was a massive, glowing tail. No water dripped from it, and the sea at its base was unbroken, as if it weren’t really there. Catra could see right through it, but, as it continued to rise, its form solidified, choking out the sky behind it. She heard Scorpia gasp beside her. 

And then the tail came crashing down onto the surface, and a surge of water pushed across the deck. Catra and Scorpia clung to the rail for dear life as their legs were knocked out from beneath them and salt water streamed into their mouths. As the wave passed over them, they emerged coughing and spluttering. Catra’s lungs burned. 

There was a scream. As the water receded back off of the side of the deck, it pulled one of the workers with it. He grasped desperately at the slick, smooth floor, and made one final attempt to latch onto the railing before his hands slipped, and he went overboard. There wasn’t a splash. The water simply swallowed him up.

“It’s a spirit,” Scorpia breathed.

Catra wanted so desperately to tell her she was crazy, but there was no other explanation. This  _ thing _ did not obey the laws of physics. As she watched, it lit up again in a blue glow, faded to transparency, and disappeared beneath the surface. 

All was quiet. Catra felt Scorpia breathing heavily beside her. She stood with all her muscles tensed, expecting the creature to resurface at any moment. 

But it didn’t.

Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio found them at the railing, their faces ashen and bodies shaking. Catra could feel her own legs quivering, but she took a deep breath and straightened herself. She was in charge here; she didn’t have time to be afraid.

“What the hell  _ was _ that?” Lonnie said, her voice hoarse from shouting.

“It looked like a spirit!” Scorpia exclaimed.

“A spirit?” Kyle squeaked, “W-What do spirits do with people they take?!”

“Everybody just calm down,” Catra said, struggling to keep her own voice level, “The mission just changed.”

Everyone looked at her.

“Whatever that  _ thing _ is - we’re going to kill it.”


	8. Book 1: Water - Scars of the Water Tribe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello friends! Sorry I'm late posting, but the world is crazy right now and there's a lot going on. But I have been super excited to start digging into Mermista's character in this AU because I LOVE her, so I hope you enjoy! And please stay healthy!
> 
> PS: I will now be back to my regular, every other week posting schedule.

Glimmer couldn’t sleep. It wasn’t normally a problem for her except during full moons, but she could not quiet her restless mind tonight. When Adora had brought those words,  _ black water _ , to Mermista, the chief’s eyes had gone wide, and she and Sea Hawk had shared a knowing look. 

“What is it?” Adora had asked, looking from one to the other.

“Uh, you,” Mermista replied, pointing to Adora’s Fire Nation clothing, “Southwest of here there’s a Fire Nation rig that’s been dumping, ugh, gross  _ gunk _ into the water. I’ve told everyone to stay away from it - not that  _ that  _ means anything to  _ some  _ people.”

She scowled at Sea Hawk who did his best to avoid eye contact and pretend like he had no idea what she was talking about. He cleared his throat when Mermista looked away and said,

“It’s a few hours away - which I suppose for an angry spirit probably isn’t too far.”

He stroked his mustache thoughtfully.

“The spirit must be upset that the Fire Nation is polluting its home,” Bow said, “Man, what a terrible thing to  _ do _ , but I guess it  _ is  _ the Fire Nation-”

“Ahem!” Glimmer coughed, elbowing Bow sharply in the side and glancing at Adora.

She wore a pained expression, but she didn’t shrink back.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly, “But if we - if  _ I _ \- talk to the spirit then maybe . . .”

Mermista sat forward now and gripped the trident that rested on the floor beside her.

“If this spirit is pissed off because its waters are being polluted, it’s not, like, going to just play nice because you talk to it,” she said.

Adora stared into Mermista’s eyes for a few moments.

“Then we stop it - the pollution.”

“Stop it?” Bow asked, “You mean . . . destroy the rig?”

Adora nodded, a fire behind the pain in her eyes. Glimmer sucked in a breath. It couldn’t be easy to fight against the place you called home, the people who were  _ your _ people. Glimmer couldn’t imagine ever doing it herself. But Adora . . . It was clear she meant to keep her word, no matter the cost.

_ I want to be like that _ , Glimmer thought suddenly,  _ I’m  _ going to be like that.  _ I’m going to unite the tribes again, no matter what. _

Her mind drifted back to the present, and she rolled over and buried her face in the pillow. She let out a silent groan. No matter what - but it was a pretty big  _ what _ . How was she supposed to unite with two tribes that  _ hated _ her own? 

A sliver of moonlight shone across the floor, and Glimmer slowly lowered her feet to the ground and tip-toed past Bow and Adora. Bow conked out immediately - typical - but Glimmer had heard Adora toss and turn for an hour or two before she finally fell into a twitchy, muttery slumber. They were in a room attached to the side of Mermista’s personal hut, three cots dragged into it to accommodate them. It surprised Glimmer; she’d been assuming they’d be left to camp out on a nearby island given how little the townspeople wanted them around.

The air outside was just as hot as during the day, and Glimmer batted at the mosquitos that flitted around her face as she walked quietly through the village, fanning herself with the front of her tunic. The moon hung low over the horizon as she passed by the now empty market stalls and front doors that stood ajar, letting the breeze in. She expected to pass a guard or two, out patrolling in light of the disappearances, but there was no one. 

A voice in the back of her head that sounded suspiciously like Bow started nagging her.

_ It’s dangerous to wander around with an angry spirit on the loose! We leave in the morning to go fight the  _ Fire Nation! _ Go to bed! _

She shook her head. If she lay there, unable to sleep, for a minute more she would go completely insane. So she continued her trek across the rafts, feeling the gentle sway of the water beneath her as she crossed a bridge. A gust gifted her a brief reprieve from the heat, and a pang of homesickness hit her. She stood, frozen, for a moment, thinking about the snow, and the midnight sun, and her mom. 

She let it wash over her for several minutes. Better here, where she was alone with no one to see, than in the bedroom where Bow or Adora might wake up. When it was done, she swallowed the lump in her throat, wiped her eyes, and began to walk again. She let her legs carry her toward the bay.

There, in the still light of the moon, she found Mermista at the end of a dock. She sat with her legs crossed and her trident across her lap. She stared out across the bay, and Glimmer stood and watched her silently. 

When Adora suggested destroying the rig, Mermista’s eyes had gone wide, and she’d gripped her trident tighter and stood, height bolstered by the platform in the council room.

“Let’s do it,” she’d said, slamming the butt of her trident against the floorboards, “I’ve been waiting  _ forever _ to drive some Fire Nation assholes back to their island!”

The bang made everyone but Sea Hawk jump. Glimmer didn’t think Mermista was capable of any emotion beyond annoyed or indifferent, but her eyes were bright and fiery as she turned to Sea Hawk and said,

“Tomorrow morning, we’re taking your ship.”

“Of course, Chief Mermista!” Sea Hawk exclaimed, beaming and staring at her with a sparkle in his eye, “I, the unstoppable, undominatable Sea Hawk, will bring you on this glorious adventure!”

Another gust blew across the water, sending tiny waves cascading against the dock. Mermista sat perfectly still, a solitary figure against the night sky. Glimmer continued to watch.

“What?” the chief finally said with a sigh.

“Isn’t it dangerous to be out here?” Glimmer said.

“Uhhh, you’re out here too,” Mermista drawled, then said, “It’s better if it takes me than anyone else.”

“But your tribe needs you.”

“And a chief needs to protect her tribe - even with her life. That’s, like, the whole point.”

Silence fell again. Another gust. Ripples spread across the surface as fish darted to and fro. Something burned deep in Glimmer’s chest. Isn’t that what she always said to her mother when they argued? That a chief should defend her tribe with action, not just words.

“You . . . “ Glimmer blurted out, “You seem - I mean . . . Uh . . . I think you’re a good chief.”

Her voice went small. Mermista still hadn’t bothered to look at her. But she meant what she said - Mermista was willing to do what needed to be done to protect her people.

_ Our people _ .

The young chief stiffened, and Glimmer kicked herself inside. They weren’t friends. Of course it was a weird thing to say. Why did she always mess up the moment? Why-

“At least somebody does,” Mermista finally said, “I mean, like . . .  _ uuuugh _ . Thanks. I guess. Whatever.”

Glimmer’s eyebrows shot up. She thought of the council meeting they’d interrupted, and the way Councilor Taka had spoken to Mermista. 

“Your council . . .” she said, encouraged by the gratitude, however, uh, oddly delivered, “You don’t get along?”

“Uhhhh, no. Wasn’t it obvious?”

“But why not?”

Mermista groaned and put her trident aside. She flopped onto her back and folded her legs up, her arms spread out on either side of her. She tilted her head back to get a brief glimpse of Glimmer. Then, she stared up at the stars.

“They have a lot of stupid problems with me because I’m a woman and they’re like, total jerks.”

Glimmer blinked.

“ _ What _ ?” 

“In the North women can’t, like, be chief.”

“My mom is the chief! And no one’s ever said anything . . . anything like that! And we’ve got lots of women who are - are on the council and are warriors-”

“Yeah yeah, jeez, I get it. Well things are, ugh,  _ different _ in the Northern Tribe, okay? When my dad left me in charge here, the council and half the village  _ flipped out. _ ”

“That’s . . . that’s terrible!” Glimmer exclaimed, her voice carrying across the open bay as she stamped a foot down and stepped up to Mermista’s side.

No wonder no one was taking her seriously, either! Well, she’d show them! She looked down at Mermista.

“At least your dad believes in you,” she said, scowl fading, “My mom . . . she doesn’t think I’ll  _ ever _ be ready to be chief . . .”

Mermista raised an eyebrow and looked Glimmer in the eye now.

“So why’d she send you on a diplomatic mission with the, uh,  _ Avatar _ ?”

Glimmer sighed and dropped down to the ground, crossing her legs and resting her chin in her palm.

“I mean . . . It took a  _ lot _ of convincing. And even though she  _ finally _ let me go, I just feel like . . . like . . .”

“LIke you’ll never be good enough?”

Glimmer stared down at the wooden board beneath her legs. She saw the water rippling through a crack and began to dig a nail into the soft wood.

“Yes,” she said in a tiny voice.

“Look, kid,” Mermista said, sitting up, “That feeling? It doesn’t just go away. You have to ignore it and, like, tell yourself you’re super cool and awesome until you finally believe it.”

“But I’m - I’m not even good at  _ waterbending! Waterbending! _ I’m barely more than terrible! How am I supposed to be the chief of a  _ Water Tribe?! _ ”

“So? Just get better at it, duh.”

“I’m  _ trying _ !” Glimmer forced through grit teeth, “It’s just really hard!”

“Newsflash, kid: so is being the chief.”

Mermista pulled a ball of water into her hands. She tossed it to a startled Glimmer who barely managed to save it from splashing onto the dock.

“You know what your problem is?”

“ . . . What?”

“You’re not flexible enough.”

“Huh? What does stretching have to do with anything?!”

Mermista groaned and put her face in her hands for a second. Then she looked at Glimmer again.

“You’ll never be good enough,” she said, and Glimmer winced, “It’s too hard. You’re too, ugh, absolute. You can’t  _ waterbend _ like that.”

Mermista snapped her hands apart, and the water between Glimmer’s fingers spread into a thin column.

“Water is a  _ flexible _ element - it’s about being  _ adaptable _ .”

She clenched her hands into fists, and suddenly a rod of ice sat in Glimmer’s palms. Mermista pointed to it.

“Try to break that.”

Glimmer glanced down at the rod. She was confused, but she gripped each end tightly and pulled down, sure it would snap. And it almost did. But, right before it could crack, it became water again, and then it was mist, swirling around her arms, totally, ungraspable - and unbreakable. 

Mermista pulled it back into a stream of water and swirled it between her fingers as she gazed up at the moon, slowly lowering her back onto the ground once again and crossing one ankle over the other. The water wrapped effortlessly around her fingertips, like it was doing what it had always been made to do.

“Water fills up the space that it’s in. It matches it, and it  _ never _ fails. A jar, a barrel, a boat, whatever. Any time you try to hurt it, you just pass through it, and, like, even if you shatter ice, one day, eventually, it’ll melt and go back together again.”

Glimmer watched the hypnotic motion of the water threading through Mermista’s dark fingers. It almost seemed to glow in the moonlight.

“To waterbend, you need to  _ be _ water. Fill the space you’re in. Like, you’re not the chief - but you’re also not just the _ chief’s daughter. _ You’re the  _ princess of the Southern Water Tribe _ .”

Mermista let the water flow back into the ocean with a quiet plop. They sat in silence, listening to the water lap against the ships around them. Glimmer had never really thought of herself as the  _ princess _ of her tribe. It felt weird to hear it said, like wearing clothes that were a little too big. 

She’d never given much thought to water beyond what she could make it do. Her mother’s lessons had always been so short and sporadic, and Glimmer so impatient, that she’d only ever been taught how, in theory, to manipulate the water. She hadn’t ever been told how to  _ think _ about water, much less  _ act _ like it. Glimmer wondered if this was something Mermista’s father had taught her.

“Your dad,” she said quietly, “Where did he go?”

Mermista sighed.

“He went on some, like, spiritual journey to find his place in the universe or whatever. Leaving the North didn’t give him, like, closure, and he didn’t really want to leave anyway.”

“Oh.”

Glimmer wanted to know more, wanted to ask why, but she felt like she was pushing her luck getting Mermista to say so much already. Instead, she said, 

“My dad died ten years ago with all the others.”

Silence again. Glimmer continued to pick at the wood beneath her feet. The moonlight sparkled across the surface of the bay. Finally, Mermista rose to her feet and picked up her trident. She held out her other hand to Glimmer.

“I’m going to sleep,” she said simply.

Glimmer took her hand and hoisted herself to her feet. They walked all the way back to Mermista’s hut without another word, and the chief disappeared into her room immediately when they stepped inside. Glimmer crept back past Bow and Adora and crawled into her cot. She stared out the window, playing back Mermista’s words in her mind until sleep finally took her.

* * *

Catra rubbed at the dark circles under her eyes as she watched the rig workers pull a massive harpoon across the deck. Its wheels squeaked insufferably after months sitting in damp storage, and she barked at them to oil the whole thing down once it was in position. The last thing she needed was their only real weapon crapping out at the last minute due to rust and neglect. 

It was a clunky thing - an older make than typically produced now. It was sent along with the rig as a precaution against sea monsters, but no one expected it to actually be used; there hadn’t been a sea monster sighting in these waters for decades. But times change, and now it was their only chance at taking down something the size of the spirit.

“You really think this’ll work?” Lonnie asked, stepping up beside her captain and crossing her arms.

“For the last time:  _ yes! _ ”

Catra spun and trudged away. Everyone was sporting the same dark circles, but Catra didn’t want any of her squad to look too closely at her face. It was fine for  _ them _ to be afraid, but  _ she _ was in charge here, and she didn’t have time for that. Not that her brain would listen while she was rolling around in bed, jumping at every clang of steam passing through the pipes.

She had the whole rig whirring with activity as it prepared for the night. Barrels of makeshift explosives lined the lower deck, and workers gathered coal in carts, ready to be lit aflame and dropped onto the creature if it came up against the hull again. The damage from the previous night’s attack was being patched up as best it could in only one day. Most of the workers weren’t actually benders, but Catra had managed to scrounge up seven, and now Rogelio was getting them in formation so they could assist in barraging the spirit when it next appeared.

The plan was simple: keep the monster at bay but agitated. And then, in the moment it became corporeal to strike, release the harpoon. That would be Catra’s job, of course. She spent a few moments playing it out in her head: the moment of triumph, the cheers from the crew, the stories people would tell their friends, and Shadow Weaver’s reaction when Catra brought her the news that she had killed a  _ spirit _ . 

_ She’ll  _ have _ to be impressed by  _ that _ ,  _ Catra thought.

But Lonnie’s question still rang in her ears. Of course it would work! Why did  _ everyone _ always doubt her? She was a  _ captain _ and had ranked second in their military class! Even Adora had always been skeptical of her plans, always trying to poke holes and question her decisions. 

“Hey, Catra!” Scorpia interrupted her solitude, walking up with a cheery wave.

She was making a real habit of that.

“What?” Catra snapped without turning. She wasn’t in the mood to hear anymore complaints.

Scorpia stopped and rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. 

“Oh, I just wanted to say that I really admire how hard you’re trying to protect the rig - I mean, it’s really super cool and heroic, taking on a spirit! Oh, we’re going to have the  _ best _ time telling people this story back home!”

Catra looked up at Scorpia in surprise and was met with such an intense expression of genuine excitement and admiration that she had to take a couple of steps back and collect herself. Scorpia was annoying, but she  _ had _ been the one to notice something was amiss last night. And, even if it hadn’t made much of a difference, it had forced Catra to admit, however begrudgingly, that maybe Scorpia wasn’t quite as oblivious as she originally thought. 

And now she was standing here, no doubt in her mind that Catra was going to kill this spirit either. 

“You okay, Catra?” Scorpia asked with a frown.

“What? Oh,” Catra ran a hand through her wild hair and shook her head slightly, “Of course I’m okay. Don’t ask stupid questions.”

“Mmm, you know, you definitely seem stressed.”

Catra scowled and pinched her nose.

“I’m  _ not _ stressed. Can’t you just-”

“Oh, oh! Of course you’re stressed - you’re doing  _ everything.  _ I can help! I mean, I’m also a captain - I have, you know, organized things before! I know: I could go check on the explosives for you!”

Catra stared at her, mouth slightly ajar. Scorpia beamed and just kept on rambling.

“Oh I wish I could tell my grandfather about this! He used to tell me all kinds of stories about spirits you know-” she gasped, “Did you know there’s a spirit that _steals people’s faces?_ Man, when you kill this thing it’s going to be - ohhh - _so_ _cool_!”

_ Yeah _ , Catra thought _ , Yeah. It is. _

She held up a hand, and Scorpia, thankfully, shut up. Catra wanted to do everything on the rig herself. After all, she  _ didn’t _ need anyone here. But, delegating was still doing, right? Isn’t delegating what Shadow Weaver did, like, most of the time? Catra debated internally for several long moments, Scorpia waiting patiently in silence. Then she finally said,

“Yeah. Go make sure the explosives are being set up properly and these idiots are keeping them  _ dry _ .”

“You got it, boss!” Scorpia saluted.

“And Scorpia?”

“Yeah?”

“Could you just like . . . chill out a little?”

“Roger that, captain.”

Scorpia turned and raced away, murmuring, “Chill, be cool . . .” to herself as she went.

Catra was still a little dumbstruck as she left the deck and descended into the bowels of the rig. Steam from the pipes that ran along the ceilings kept the dim interior even hotter than the air outside, and she was soon wiping sweat from her face and neck as she stepped into the small room she’d been provided. She closed the door and dropped, face first, onto her cot, her mind stuck on Scorpia’s words.

_ I’m cool? I’m . . . heroic? _

She and Adora had always wanted to be heroes. It’s why they both joined the military. But, somehow, it had only ever been Adora getting the recognition, the accolades, the admiration. Catra was only ever second-best - not as smart, not as strong, not as  _ anything _ . Over the years it had become starkly clear: no matter how much she  _ wanted _ to be a hero, there was only room for one. 

It didn’t matter that they’d joined the military together, trained together, were always  _ together _ . All anyone ever saw was Adora. Shadow Weaver, the other generals, her fellow soldiers . . . they had all decided Adora was the hero, and Catra was the sidekick, or, worse, unnecessary. 

But now . . . 

Catra sat up on her knees and hugged her pillow to her chest. If she had always been second-best, and now the best was gone . . . didn’t that make  _ her _ the best? Didn’t that make her the new hero? The one who everyone admired and loved and fawned over? The one who got all of the recognition and the awards and the  _ adoration? _

She flung her pillow aside and pulled her pack out from under the bed. They’d traveled light, but even then she had been unable to leave it behind. She shoved her arm all the way to the bottom until she felt the soft fabric of the turtleduck plush and pulled it free. She sat on the hard metal floor with the turtleduck resting on her knees and ran a finger across its wing. Its color had faded more than Adora’s over the years, a side effect of so many hours spent in Catra’s hands. 

“When I bring her home,” she murmured to herself, or to the toy, she didn’t know, “Everything will be back to normal.”

Normal. Normal second-best Catra.. Normal sidekick Catra. Normal forgotten Catra. 

She tightened her grip on the toy. No. When she brought Adora home, she would be a hero. They would  _ both _ be heroes. They would share the spotlight. They would share Shadow Weaver’s pride. They would share her love. 

Wouldn’t they?

“I  _ need _ her,” Catra told the turtleduck, “And she  _ needs _ me. That’s what it  _ means _ to be best friends.”

“When we’re together, everything will be good again.”

She hoped that saying it out loud would make it true.

* * *

The mid-morning sun blazed as Sea Hawk’s ship pushed out into the bay. The whole village stood watching in a crowd at the docks. Mermista’s councilors stood at the front, surly expressions on their faces as they watched her stand at the stern of the ship and lift her trident. 

“We’re going to sink that Fire Nation rig!” she called out as the boat drifted away, “And stop this crazy spirit from taking anyone else! For the Water Tribe!”

“For the Water Tribe!” the crowd cried, cheers and whistles fading as Sea Hawk caught a narrow channel and began to weave between the islands.

Mermista remained standing vigil even after the tribe was out of sight. Bow, Glimmer, and Adora sat on a row crates, Bow watching Sea Hawk work the sails, Glimmer watching Mermista, and Adora staring down at the floor. 

“Why did the council look so mad?” Bow asked Sea Hawk. Glimmer twitched and turned to the captain as well.

Sea Hawk’s eyes darted to Mermista before he leaned in and said in a low voice,

“They wanted her to bring more warriors with her - warriors they hand-picked.”

He was quiet for a moment as he tied a rather intricate knot. 

“They don’t think she should be fighting, since women aren’t allowed to be warriors in the Northern Tribe. Mermista has made some changes in that regard, and they resent her for that too.”

“What? That’s awful!” Bow exclaimed.

“She told me about it last night,” Glimmer said, ignoring Bow’s surprised expression, “It, ohhh, it makes me  _ so _ mad!”

“What  _ can _ women do in the Northern Tribe?” Bow asked.

“Women are taught healing with their waterbending, and men are taught to fight, waterbenders or not. But Mermista always wanted to fight, so her father taught her.”

Bow snuck a glance at Mermista. She did look more . . . alive, now that they were on their way to confront the Fire Nation. She stood with a tight fist around her trident, tapping an impatient finger against the grip. Her muscles were tense and far more noticeable here than when she was splayed out on the floor of the council room.

“She’s very good,” Sea Hawk said with pride, “The best. Better at fighting than even  _ me! _ ”

Bow wasn’t sure what that really meant since he had never seen Sea Hawk fight and was  _ pretty _ sure that, despite the man’s claims, there was no swarm of iguana-sharks present when he rescued them. But he  _ did _ believe Mermista was capable; she certainly looked it now. Still, he couldn’t settle his nerves.

“It probably wouldn’t have been a bad idea to bring a few more warriors though, right? I mean . . . it’s a whole Fire Nation rig  _ and _ a spirit.”

“Ah,” Sea Hawk said, sitting on a box beside Bow, “But if we take the warriors with us, who’s left to defend the village if the spirit attacks it tonight?”

Realization dawned in Bow’s eyes, and he looked to Mermista again. His face heated up in shame; he’d thought she was kind of a jerk, but not many people would put the lives of everyone else before their own. And, even some people in the village didn’t like a woman being chief, they had all turned up to see her off anyway. That had to mean something.

Sea Hawk continued to tell them about the Northern Tribe, throwing in a few tales of his valiant triumphs against polar-bear dogs, snow serpents, and a creature that Glimmer was quite certain  _ did not _ exist (a two-legged thing covered in white fur that was often mistaken for a man). Bow went to work repairing his remaining damaged arrows, asking the occasional question and letting out the occasional indignant huff on behalf of all women. Mermista crossed to the bow of the ship and kept her eyes on the horizon, a living figurehead at the ready.

Adora stood up and slipped away to a corner where she slid to the floor and pulled her knees up to her face. Glimmer followed and crouched down beside her.

“You okay?” she asked.

Adora shook her head.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” she said.

“I thought you got used to boats.”

Adora shook her head again.

“It’s not that. Glimmer, how am I supposed to do this? I don’t know  _ anything _ about talking to spirits or - or the spirit world. I’m going to get us all  _ killed _ -”

“Okay, okay,” Glimmer put her hands on Adora’s shoulders, “Just, calm down for a second. You’re  _ not _ going to get us all killed. You’re the Avatar. When we get there you’ll know what to do.”

“But what if I  _ don’t! _ I can’t even  _ bend! _ Not really! I can make a puff of air and a splash of water, but I can’t do anything against a spirit!”

“You don’t need to be able to bend. You’re not going to fight the spirit - you’re going to  _ talk _ to it.”

Talk?  _ Her? _ Adora’s stomach churned. Talking had never been one of her strong suits. She could keep up when a conversation went the anticipated direction, but as soon as someone asked her an unexpected question or tried to joke around or tease her, she had no idea how to react. A diplomatic mission to make peace with a  _ spirit? _ She might insult it by accident and get herself, and all of her companions, killed. 

“I’m not good at talking,” she said, “You’re good at talking.”

Glimmer blinked in surprise. She was good at talking?

“You know what to say,” Adora continued, “If I get in front of the spirit I’m just going to - to - to sound like an idiot.”

She pressed her forehead into her kneecaps. She’d felt so good after meditating. She’d gotten the answer she needed, she’d done something  _ right _ as the Avatar. But what Glimmer didn’t know is that last night she’d tried it again, hoping to get some advice from a past life. She’d lay there for so long, digging and digging, screaming for her past selves, and she’d gotten nothing. Whatever mystical Avatar power she’d managed to pull forth in the afternoon had dissipated completely. 

“This is also because we’re going to be fighting the Fire Nation, isn’t it,” Glimmer said quietly.

Adora sighed. She was confident enough in her skill with her swords that fighting  _ people _ , even benders, didn’t scare her on principle. But fighting citizens of the Fire Nation . . . people who used to be  _ her _ people. Until they reached the rig, she was just a soldier missing in action. Once they attacked, she would be a traitor. There would really be no going back. 

She’d be lying if she said that didn’t scare her.

“I’m sorry,” Glimmer murmured, “I can’t imagine what it’s like . . . “

“I just . . . wish things were different,” Adora murmured into her knees.

“Me too.”

“Uhhh, change it then.”

The girls looked up at Mermista. She stood over them now, leaning her weight against her trident. 

“I’m tired of sitting around doing nothing and  _ wishing _ ,” she said, “And so are both of you - or else you wouldn’t  _ be _ here.”

She paused for a second.

“Get up.”

“Huh?” Adora raised her head.

“Um, you’re supposed to learn bend, right? So both of you: get up. We’ve got hours before we reach the rig,” she spun her trident around and jammed it into a nearby crate, “That’s plenty of time.”

Glimmer leapt to her feet with a squeal. Adora rose much slower, eyeing Mermista warily. Something had come over the chief of the Central Water Tribe, and she wasn’t quite sure how she felt about it. Did Mermista’s thirst for a fight with the Fire Nation extend to her, even if she didn’t act on it?

“Like I told Glimmer last night,” Mermista said, pulling up water from the side of the boat, “To be a waterbender, you need to be like water. If you don’t like what you are now then just be something else.”

She turned the water to ice and gave Adora a pointed look.

“You next,” and she let the water drop onto the deck, liquid again.

Adora took a deep breath and lifted the water shakily from the deck with a jerk of her arms.

“Uh, no,” Mermista called out, “Like this - be more fluid.”

She made the motion with her arms, and nodded for Adora to copy. Adora breathed again and this time lifted her arms slowly but smoothly, and the water followed. Mermista gestured for Glimmer to gather her own water, and then set to work demonstrating the core movements of waterbending. It was something Glimmer already knew, but having a teacher whose focus was completely on her was so novel she didn’t mind practicing the basics. 

“Who taught you to waterbend, Chief Mermista?” Adora asked as she followed her instructor’s movements.

“My dad,” she said, “He was chief before me - and chief of the Northern Tribe. Also just call me Mermista cuz it’s, like, really annoying to be called by my title  _ all the time _ .”

“Sorry. Um, what . . . What happened to your dad?”

“Nothing, he’s just on some weird, spiritual journey or whatever. He made me chief before he left.”

“Oh,” Adora said, relieved to learn that her nation had not cost another one of her allies a parent.

“Why did you leave the Northern Tribe?”

Glimmer took her eyes off her water and looked at Mermista. She’d been wondering the same thing ever since their conversation last night. 

Mermista was quiet, changing her movements to a new form and waiting for Glimmer and Adora to get into a rhythm before answering.

“After what happened there was, like, a  _ huge _ split between the people who wanted to wall the tribe off from the rest of the world and the people who wanted to fight and avenge everyone else.”

“And your dad wanted to fight?” Adora asked.

Mermista looked away, focusing intently on the water moving around her body.

“No,” she finally said, “But I did - along with pretty much everyone in the village. Half the council wanted to leave, half wanted to stay, everyone was always arguing, especially my parents, and it all got really old, ugh,  _ really _ fast. Both sides were pressuring my dad, and he didn’t want to leave, but . . . he was there ten years ago. He saw what happened to our people, and he thought that if he didn’t go with us, if we didn’t have an experienced chief to lead us, we’d be in way more danger than everyone staying. He thought  _ I’d _ be in more danger. So he left too.”

“How old were you?” Bow asked, his attention now on Mermista completely.

“Fourteen. My dad had just taken me ice dodging - and that pissed a  _ ton _ of people off too, ugh.”

“What about your mom?” Glimmer asked.

Silence.

“She stayed,” Mermista said after a painfully slow minute, in a voice that clearly meant ‘I’m done talking about this.’

But Adora still had one more question. She stopped her waterbending and looked to Mermista, to Glimmer, to Bow, and to Sea Hawk.

“What happened ten years ago?” she said, “If I’m going to help . . . If I’m going to be the Avatar . . . I need to know.”

Bow sighed and leaned his head back, pointing his gaze up at the clear sky. Glimmer’s lip quivered. Mermista looked away.

“The Rebellion went on the attack,” Sea Hawk finally said, the usual energy gone from his voice, “The call came in from the Southern Tribe asking all of the allies of the Rebellion to gather a fighting force for an invasion.”

Adora listened intently as Sea Hawk spoke. 

The Northern Tribe gathered its forces, as did the Earth Kingdom. The remaining Air Nomads, a people of peace with numbers that were already devastated, arrived in the Southern Tribe to help prepare the ships. They would wait until the invasion was complete, and then follow everyone to the Fire Nation with supplies necessary to help care for the injured and feed the invasion force. 

Leading the invasion was Glimmer’s father, Micah, the only airbender to enter into combat. Leading the troops of the Northern Water Tribe was Mermista’s father, Hanlaq. 

The forces gathered at the Southern Tribe, arriving from the east to avoid detection by the Fire Nation. At least, that’s what they thought. 

On the day of the invasion, hundreds of men and women set out, determined to end the war and free their nations from fear. Among them were some of the strongest benders, the best tacticians, the most passionate warriors. 

Only thirty-eight returned, Hanlaq among them. 

The Fire Nation had been ready. The invasion force met a wall of iron ships and fireballs - but that alone wasn’t the cause for the bloodbath. The true culprit was the trap the Fire Nation had laid in the water. Those ships that made it through the blockade were caught on a series of steel spikes floating just beneath the surface, released by the Fire Nation destroyers moments before. It was only when people began to sink that the fighters realized the firebenders had been taking down the waterbenders faster than anybody else.

People drowned. People burned. And they never even saw the shore of the Fire Nation. The leaders of the nations had been assured that their attack went unknown. They had trusted in the Rebellion’s intelligence, had leaned into the Rebellion’s fervor, had let hope guide their decisions. And they paid dearly for it. 

Those who survived returned home, having watched their friends and family die, and abandoned the Rebellion. Blame fell on Chief Angella, the last remaining leader who still believed in the Rebellion. She was especially hated in the Northern Tribe. 

“This is what happens when a woman is chief,” people said.

How would the nations protect their homes now that so many of their soldiers had been lost? How could hope live after such devastating sorrow? It was naive, the people said, to believe they could possibly make a dent in the Fire Nation war machine with only hope. And so the Rebellion fell to pieces.

Adora listened with dawning horror. It wasn’t just that what had happened was horrible - that so many had died, that almost everyone on this boat with her knew someone, loved someone, who had died that day. 

The real horror, she realized, was that she knew  _ nothing _ about it. A force had tried to invade the Fire Nation and had been completely decimated, but she’d never heard about it, never learned about it. Not in school. Not at the dinner table. Not in the military. Not in any lesson on battle history or war strategy. Not in any book or news alert.

Why? Why wouldn’t the Fire Nation tote this victory like a badge of honor among its citizens? 

Adora could think of only one reason: 

It was hard to convince your people that you were the great enlightened saviors of the world if you told them that the whole world united to try and stop you from “saving” them. 

And the worst thought of all - it started as a whisper, crescendoed to a shriek in her mind as she looked at the devastated faces of the people around her. It settled itself in a part of her brain that she had tried so hard to avoid. Settled itself in the truth that so far she had not wanted to confront.

_ Mom. _

_ Mom did this. _


	9. Book 1: Water - Spiritual Guidance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooooh boy! I want to thank everyone who has commented and everyone who has been leaving kudos! Not gonna lie folks: this pandemic hit me like a truck. But I am very happy to finally have a new chapter to share with y'all. I can't commit to a specific update schedule at this point, but I AM still writing, and I want to thank y'all for sticking around and still reading! After struggling for months to write it, I'm actually really happy with this chapter, so I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Also I haven't watched season 5 yet, but when I do ooooo boy.

The sunset blazed overhead, light bouncing off the petals of the Fire Temple’s curved pagoda roof as Shadow Weaver strode toward it. Her hands were folded into the arms of her robes where no one could see the way she dug her nails into her skin, raising small half-moons of blood to the surface. She had not visited this temple in decades, and she was disgusted to learn that the sight of it still sent a pang of  _ something _ through her. She crushed the feeling down inside of her as far as it would go - she had no time for such foolish things. 

She reached the island’s peak and stood at the foot of the temple, looking out across the bay that was enclosed in the Crescent Island’s arms. This was a pitiful place; tiny, covered in volcanic rock, utterly useless. 

And yet, it was the only place she might get answers without arousing anyone’s suspicions. Well, not the suspicions of anyone who mattered anyway. 

There was no one to meet her - she had not sent a letter ahead of her arrival. She pushed open the temple doors and strode into the entrance hall. The Crescent Island Temple was quite a bit smaller than the one in the capital, but it still cut an imposing figure inside and out. Shadow Weaver looked around the room, taking in the lit braziers and impeccably shined floor. She supposed the remaining Sages didn’t have anything better to do than clean these days.

She didn’t linger by the doors long but sped through the hallways and stairwells with a practiced step, the layout of the temple still deeply ingrained in her body. She passed through the corridors without seeing a single soul, and the relief she felt sparked a quiet fury in her. Why should she be relieved? These people were nothing.

The doors to the temple archives were sealed like many such doors in the temples - only a firebender could open them. Shadow Weaver shot two plumes of fire into the open sockets and waited only a moment as the locking mechanism released. The doors each inched inward. The War Minister pushed her way inside, gently pressing the doors shut behind her. It was pitch black in the archives, and once again she felt a twinge of relief. With an angry huff, she cast fire out to the braziers she knew lined the walls and watched the library flare to light before her.

_ Second row from the back, beside the records of temple visitors and beneath the copies of Great Sage Riju’s Treatise.  _

She followed her thoughts to the back of the archives. It was miniscule compared to the Dragonbone Catacombs beneath the great temple in the capital, but here, at the end of the second row from the back, the doors were completely out of sight. And there it was - the tome she had poured over night after night, the one the former Great Sage had told her was full of useless conjecture.

“Who are we to presume we can understand all of the great mysteries of the Spirit World?”

His words played through her mind as she pulled the text, bound in black leather with an image of spirits laid in gold across the cover, into her hands and let it fall open. It still went right to the page she had read over and over and over again. A puff of dust breezed past her mask as the book settled in her arms. 

She could still recall every word of that page. It was the rest of the book she had come for - the things in youth that she had not fully understood, the things that might explain how her daughter, her Adora, could possibly be the Avatar. She folded the book shut and slipped it into an inner pocket of her robes. There were no copies of this text to be found in the catacombs, but she would not be delivering it to the scribes. 

_ Knowledge is true power. _

The lock on the archive doors clanged, echoing up into the raised ceiling of the library. Shadow Weaver slipped into the next row and stepped out into the middle of the room, folding her hands into her sleeves and watching as the doors opened and a man stepped into the room. He startled when he saw her, eyes wide with shock and distaste.

“War Minister,” he managed to spit out, “I wasn’t expecting you.”

“That was by my design, Great Sage Tsuna,” she replied, smirking behind the mask.

Theirs was an old rivalry, and all the memories of it came flooding back to the Great Sage as he took in the woman standing before him, adorned in the thick aura of superiority possessed only by those most trusted by the Fire Lord. He thought that he had finally won when he became Great Sage of the temple, but then she was named War Minister, and it became clear that she was playing, and winning, a much bigger game.

Prime’s fire, how he  _ hated _ her.

“What business do you have with the temple?” Tsuna asked with feigned politeness.

“I am here on behalf of the Fire Lord,” Shadow Weaver said, happy to play Tsuna’s strings once more, “He has need of your expertise.”

Tsuna straightened up, lacing his hands in front of him.

“Oh, of course,” he said, “What does His Majesty require? I can come straight to court and-”

Shadow Weaver raised a hand.

“Fire Lord Horak is of course a very busy man. He has tasked me with this investigation, so I will relay anything you have to say.”

Tsuna’s shoulders slumped, and he ran his eyes across what passed for Shadow Weaver’s face and tried to discern something - anything - from her gaze. But even her eyes were almost invisible in the shadow of the mask.

“What investigation is this?” he asked warily.

“An investigation into the Avatar’s return.”

Tsuna stared at her. Was this a peace offering, or was this a trap? 

_ If it  _ is _ a trap, there is nothing to catch,  _ he thought. _ , I have been unfailingly loyal to the Fire Lord, and so have my disciples. _

When Fire Lord Hordak came to power after his coronation, he removed much of the spiritual power afforded to the temples, announcing that he preferred to worship the practical. Many of the Sages - irreverent citizens who couldn’t see the glory the Fire Lord would bring to their nation - left the temple. Now only five, including Tsuna, remained, and none saw the sense in continuing to worship a demigod that no longer existed. 

But just last week the sanctuary had burst into light, the eyes of Avatar Mara’s abandoned statue glowing so bright that Tsuna thought he might go blind. The message couldn’t have been clearer: the Avatar has returned.

“Is the High Sage’s knowledge not sufficient for you?” he asked.

“The High Sage has many other duties to attend to - he alone cannot invest himself in hours of research. The Fire Lord needs you as well.”

Shadow Weaver took a few steps closer to Great Sage Tsuna. She looked him in the eye - something he  _ felt _ rather than saw. He didn’t want to help her, but she was the Fire Lord’s right-hand woman. If he could impress Fire Lord Hordak . . . 

She watched his face, reading every thought in the twitch of his forehead and the dart of his eyes as his gaze lost focus and he retreated into his mind. She smirked again. People like Tsuna were too easy. They wore their desires plain for everyone to see, and it was just a matter of dangling the carrot in front of them. People would justify anything to themselves if it got them what they  _ really _ wanted.

Of course, Tsuna had no idea that Fire Lord Hordak had no knowledge of Shadow Weaver’s journey to his temple or that she intended to keep it that way. The Fire Lord could not know that Adora was the Avatar. And that is why she had come to the sages of the Crescent Island Temple - they didn’t even know she  _ had _ a daughter.

“I am honored to be able to assist the Fire Lord. What do you need?”

“Theories on how the Avatar could still be alive. I have read every account in the catacombs twice over and see no way that she could have survived that final battle.”

She saw the spark in his eye as he took the bait. Something Shadow Weaver could not figure out?

“ _ Surely _ it’s occured to you that she didn’t survive, and that this is a new Avatar who has been in hiding?”

“Of course, but how have they stayed hidden?”

Tsuna paced in front of the stacks.

“Yes . . . And what caused the temple to light up now, instead of any other time?”

That was the question Shadow Weaver most wanted to answer. Why now? How had her daughter, a non-bender destined for military success, suddenly become  _ this _ ?

“I suppose it is also worth asking who has been hiding them,” Tsuna said, “After all, someone must have cared for them as a child.”

Images raced through Shadow Weaver’s mind. She looked down at Adora, a crying baby in a crib stuffed hastily into a closet, no doubt to protect her from the Earth Kingdom army as it invaded the colonial town. Adora cooing and smiling in her arms, tugging on her hair. Adora, a toddler, racing around the garden of their estate in the capital. Adora, ten years old with gangly limbs, holding two practice swords and waiting to show off what she’d been learning.

“Yes,” Shadow Weaver murmured, “Someone must have.”

“The Earth Kingdom perhaps,” Tsuna was musing, “They’ve managed to keep us out from the heart of the country so far.”

“If this is a new Avatar, then they must be an airbender.”

“Yes, that is true . . . That at least gives us some information on the Avatar’s age then, assuming once again that Avatar Mara did not escape - which I believe would be impossible. We must think: what airbenders still existed when Avatar Mara fell? Most had already been scattered to the winds, their temples destroyed.”

“What airbenders indeed,” Shadow Weaver echoed, mind racing.

She had not considered that, and she was mildly irritated that talking to Tsuna had in fact been useful. But could they still be alive? She had to be careful now. There were things she knew that she had not even told Lord Hordak. 

It was a maddening puzzle, especially because she knew Avatar Mara must have survived that final battle  _ somehow _ \- it happened one-hundred years ago, and Adora was only sixteen. 

Images of her daughter continued to surface in her mind. Thirteen years old and being fitted for her training uniform. Five and learning to swim on Ember Island. Tsuna still rambled, but she’d had enough.

“Thank you for your thoughts, Great Sage Tsuna,” she interrupted, sweeping past him, “But I’m afraid I have other duties to attend to.”

Tsuna narrowed his eyes as she passed by him.

“You will tell the Fire Lord what I’ve said? And that it was  _ I  _ who said it?”

Shadow Weaver did not even turn to look at him as she said,

“Of course.”

And slid out of the room, leaving him alone amongst the stacks. 

* * *

Adora woke with a jolt, and an intense wave of nausea washed over her as the world blurred into place. She lay sprawled on her back, limbs extended like a starfish, and, after another stomach-churning moment, she realized she was floating in the water. 

No. Not quite.

She pressed her palms down and felt the water press back for just a moment before her fingers slipped beneath the surface as if there were nothing there. No ripples extended from her body as she moved. The press of the water wasn’t right. It was like an echo of the water’s actual presence - just enough for her to know it was there, but not enough to truly interact with. 

Carefully, she sat up and found that she did not sink. She wasn’t floating in the water, she was resting on top of it like it was solid ground, until the moment she tried to push her hands through, and then she found she could submerge her limbs, but it still only felt like air. A shadow passed over her as a large wave rose up, and she covered her head with her arms as it crashed down. It felt like a breeze, and while the water churned around her, she remained perfectly still.

“What’s happening?!” she gasped, “Where-”

And then she heard it; the low keening cry of the spirit. She  _ felt _ it too. It made her whole body vibrate as it echoed through the night air. She whirled around and saw the rig. How did she get so far away? One moment they were under the water in Sea Hawk’s canoe, waiting beside the rig for a moment to strike, and then-

The cry echoed again, and Adora felt the floor that was the ocean quake beneath her. The sound shook its way up her spine and into the back of her head where it crumbled away all other thoughts. 

_ Where is it?!  _

Adora stumbled to her feet.

_ I have to stop it before it hurts anyone! _

But she couldn’t make sense of the world. How had she ended up out in the middle of the ocean? Her memory would not come to her, and she let out a cry of frustration. Her mind had always been her greatest strength in battle - how could it fail her  _ now _ ?!

No, she  _ had _ to get it together. She had to keep her emotions in check. She took a deep breath.

_ Soldier. I’m a soldier. I will stay calm. I will be smart and calculated. I will not let fear get the better of me. _

Though it pained her to think of her mother now, she found herself returning to the advice she had given when Adora joined the military.

_ An officer cannot let emotion dictate her actions. She must be willing to make sacrifices, and she must always walk the path to victory - regardless of the cost. She must be better, faster, smarter, and crueler than her opponents. She must be ruthless. _

The words left a bad taste in Adora’s mouth as they echoed through her head. She remembered when Shadow Weaver had first said them. She lay awake that night, tasting “crueler” and “ruthless” and wondering why they left such a knot in her stomach. Weakness. That’s what she knew her mother would call it, so she spent the rest of the night trying to convince herself that the Fire Nation’s enemies deserved it.

But, even then, she couldn’t. And for the first time she thought - really hoped - that perhaps her mother did not know everything. She would be an officer and bring the Fire Nation to glory, and she would be better, and faster, and smarter, but she would not be crueler. She would not be ruthless. It was a secret ambition, one she’d not even told Catra. 

Of course, it had been a doomed ambition from the start. The very act of being in the military was an act of cruelty. She knew that now.

But she only knew how to be a soldier, so she repeated the words she liked, again and again.

_ I cannot let emotions dictate my actions. I must be willing to make sacrifices - even if it means my life. I must be better, faster, smarter. _

_ I’m going to stop this spirit. I’m going to save the Central Water Tribe. I don’t have a choice. I  _ will _ do it. _

She grit her teeth and sprinted toward the rig, but it was like a bad dream; no matter how fast she ran, she didn’t seem to get any closer. She couldn’t feel the wind pushing back against her or feel her feet make contact with the water’s surface. Was she even moving at all? There was no physical indication of it, and the rig was so far that running was futile anyway. 

_ What am I supposed to do?! Fly?! _

“Ugh, I’m so  _ stupid _ !” Adora exclaimed and brought her arms up in front of her face.

With a quick, clean motion she snapped her arms back behind her, willing the air to follow and send her surging forward. 

But nothing happened. Blood drained from her face as she repeated the motion. Nothing. She brought her arms up and pushed. Not even a breeze. The world appeared to move around her - the clouds racing overhead, the waves pulsing beneath her, but she was totally disconnected from it, unable to feel it or control it. She had only been the Avatar for less than a week! Had she already done something to ruin it?! The shaky calm she’d found dissolved entirely.

“Why can’t I bend?!” she cried out, “Why can’t I feel  _ anything _ ?! WHAT IS GOING ON?!”

“Calm down, dearie! You’re going to scare it away!”

Adora whipped around. Ten feet away stood a wild-haired woman, stooped and tiny with age. 

“Who are you?”

The old woman tutted and looked up at the moon.

“You’re always  _ late, _ Mara!”

“I’m not Mara!” Adora shouted, “I’m  _ Adora _ ! Who  _ are _ you?!”

The woman looked at her again.

“Oh! Mara! You’ve finally made it.”

“You’re crazy,” Adora said, “You’re just- just some crazy spirit lady who-”

Adora gasped.

“Spirit,” she whispered and looked down at her hands, turning them every which way in the moonlight.

They looked the same as they always did, but she dropped to her knees and shoved them into the water again, watching as they passed through the surface but left no disruption, no ring of froth as the water passed around her arm. It was like being a ghost. A spirit.

“I’m in the spirit world,” Adora whispered, then raised her head, “I’m in the spirit-”

But the woman was gone. How?! She had been right there, and there was only open ocean! How could she have gone so quickly? Adora opened her mouth to call out, but froze when she felt a huff of warm breath on the back of her neck. 

Slowly, she turned her head. 

She came face to face with the large, golden snout of a bright red dragon. She shrieked and fell back, shuffling away on her heels and elbows as quickly as she could.

A dragon?! The dragons were all supposed to be  _ dead! _

The creature dipped its head toward her, and she hid her face behind her arms, bracing for attack. But what she felt instead was another puff of hot breath and a gentle press of warm scales against her temple. A vision flashed through her mind: a young woman, tall, with long braided hair astride the dragon, wearing long crimson robes to match its brilliant scales. Atop her head sat a circlet with three prongs raised in a very familiar shape: the emblem of the Fire Nation.

There was only one person this woman could be.

“Mara,” Adora breathed as the dragon stepped back. It nodded.

“You were her dragon?” she asked warily, and the dragon nodded again.

Of course. This dragon was as dead as the rest, a spirit like she was now. Didn’t that mean Mara had to be too?

“Mara,” Adora said, rising to her feet and taking a cautious step toward the dragon, “Is she here? In the spirit world?”

The dragon nodded once more.

“Can you take me to her?”

The dragon bowed its head and crouched low. It looked at Adora expectantly. Adora took a deep breath, though she wasn’t sure she  _ needed _ to breathe in the spirit world. Once again, she wished being the Avatar came with a manual.

But the dragon was going to bring her to Avatar Mara - wasn’t that thirty times better than a manual? An actual person to give her instructions! To tell her what being the Avatar was all about and how to do it! The excitement at finally finding  _ answers _ overwhelmed her anxieties, and Adora clambered up onto the dragon’s back, grabbing hold of a raised patch of scales as its body tensed beneath her and it extended its wings. With a mighty flap they were launched into the air, and Adora saw the ocean sprawl out below them.

As they soared away, Adora twisted her neck to look back at the rig. All she could see were brief spurts of firelight, but she heard it once again, the low keening of the spirit. She had to hurry.

_ Hold on everybody! Mara will tell me how to fix this - just hold on! _

* * *

Bow didn’t know what to do and that terrified him. Usually, he was pretty good at planning, but Adora being flung out to sea by the giant, angry spirit had  _ not _ been part of the plan. Was she okay? Was she even  _ alive _ ? 

He shook the thought from his head. She  _ had _ to be alive. Right now, he needed to do everything he could to keep the rest of his friends - and himself - safe. 

The rig shook as the spirit rammed its massive tail into the side, and Glimmer grabbed his arm to steady herself. They stood with their backs pressed up against a wall, breathing heavily as, three yards away, four of the rig’s guards attempted to hurl barrels of explosives over the deck’s railing and onto the spirit’s back. 

Bow played back the events of the night in his mind. 

At Mermista’s suggestion, Sea Hawk anchored the ship at the edge of the archipelago, just out of sight of the rig, and then they all piled into a canoe. With her bending, Mermista lowered them far beneath the surface, manipulating the water so that they were encased in a dome of air. Adora and Glimmer combined forces and steered them to the side of the rig where Mermista brought them just close enough to the surface that Sea Hawk was able to stand and extend his telescope so the lens was just above the water. 

He and Bow took turns surveying the rig, and they made a plan. Wait for the spirit, and, once everyone was distracted, Mermista would create a geyser and blast them all up onto the deck. Glimmer, Bow, and Sea Hawk would sneak inside and sabotage the rig’s machinery using what Adora told them about Fire Nation construction as a guide. Mermista and Adora would stay on the deck where Adora would confront the spirit while Mermista provided cover. All they had to do was get the spirit on their side and the rig would go down easy. The Fire Nation would be forced to evacuate, and the Central Water Tribe would be safe.

_ So much for that! _

“Bow!” Glimmer hissed, “Look!”

The guards had fumbled a barrel and were scrambling to hoist it over the railing. Bow gripped Glimmer’s hand and bolted around the corner. Sea Hawk and Mermista were nowhere to be seen, but Bow could hear their voices ring out in the night as they fought. As enthusiastic as they were, they couldn’t hold out forever against the rig’s forces, even with so many of them distracted by the spirit’s onslaught. 

A wave of heat passed over Bow and Glimmer’s heads as they slid into a crevice between two storage buildings. Bow’s eyes darted up just in time to see Adora’s crazy firebender friend Catra leap down from above, fire flying from her fists as she landed fifteen feet in front of where he and Glimmer stood. She didn’t notice them, instead racing toward the sounds of Mermista’s battle cries. 

“Bow, what are we gonna do?!” Glimmer exclaimed, “What if Adora . . . What if she’s . . .”

Bow grabbed her shoulders.

“I know,” he said, “But she’s the Avatar. We  _ have _ to believe she’s alright.”

“But what if she needs help?”

Bow could see the tears forming in his best friend’s eyes. This fight was supposed to be different than the last one. This time, they had a master waterbender, a sea captain with experience giving the Fire Nation the run-around, and the  _ Avatar _ . But this was  _ worse _ . One afternoon of intensive waterbending training and plan-making wasn’t enough to make either of them into real warriors. They couldn’t keep going into battle like this - eventually it would kill them.

_ No. I swore when I left that I was going to come home alive, no matter what.  _

_ I won’t let anyone else die. _

Bow thought of his brothers, and his grip on Glimmer’s shoulders tightened. She sucked in a breath and winced.

“Bow?”

He hugged her tightly for a moment, ignoring the bewildered look on her face, then leaned back and said,

“We’re going to get through this. You’ve got a tribe to reunite, and Adora’s got a world to save.”

“But what do we do?!”

“We stick with the plan.”

Bow pointed to a doorway several yards away that stood open, its door thrown wide when the rig’s crew burst onto the deck. A staircase led down into the body of the rig. Glimmer’s face would have paled if it hadn’t already been drained of all color.

“Just us?”

“We have to try,” Bow insisted, “If we destroy the rig, the spirit’s attack will stop! Then we’ll be able to look for Adora!”

Glimmer took a deep breath and balled her hands into fists, felt her nails dig into her palms. She looked up at the moon and breathed again. She put a hand on the small cask of water that Mermista had tied to her waist.

“Okay,” she said, “You’re right. Let’s go!”

They counted to three and then sprinted across the deck together, hurdling through the doorway and down the stairs. They careened down a hallway until they found another flight of steps. There was no one around - yet. Bow led the way down the stairs, descending further and further as the still air grew warmer and warmer. Three levels down, they found an entrance to a massive room of pipes and furnaces, the mechanical innards of the rig. The machinery sprawled down another floor.

Bow spotted an engineer racing across a catwalk and pulled Glimmer behind a large pipe before they could be spotted.

_ So there are still people down here. We’ll have to be fast. _

“Bow, look over there,” Glimmer said, pointing to a huge metal cylinder. Every few seconds steam hissed out of the top.

“If I bend the water in that, I can break it open,” she whispered.

Bow nodded. The time for precision was over - it was time to hit hard and get out quick.

“I’ll cover you,” he murmured, notching an explosive arrow, “As soon as it breaks, I’ll start firing at the pipes.”

Glimmer nodded. They waited for another engineer to pass by, and then they made a break for it. The cylinder was held aloft in the middle of the room, accessible by four catwalks that came together with it at the center. They raced along one and came to a stop in front of the container.

“You got this, Glimmer!” Bow said, turning his back to her and eying the catwalk, arrow at the ready.

He heard Glimmer take a deep breath and felt the movement of her arms as she reached for the water inside the machine. He noticed his arms were shaking and took a deep breath himself. 

_ Focus. You have to focus. _

But images of his brothers the day they left home kept coming to his mind. And then the funeral. The emblem of the Earth Nation carved into the coffins. Killed when they were sent after Fire Nation soldiers who had raided a village. And here he was, in the middle of a Fire Nation rig. He remembered his fathers crying. If he died here, they wouldn’t even get a coffin. All they would get was nothing. They would never know.

And for what? It’s not like he would die in the final charge against the Fire Nation capital. He wouldn’t even make a dent in ending this war. 

_ Snap out of it, Bow. Snap  _ out _ of it! _

“Bow!” 

Glimmer’s shriek jolted him to reality, and he whirled just in time to see something - no,  _ someone _ \- leap down from a massive pipe and land right next to her, catwalk shaking beneath their feet. He was still processing the sight when the girl, a good foot and a half taller than Glimmer, jabbed her fingers into Glimmer’s arms, legs, and torso in three quick motions. With a cry of surprise, his best friend toppled to the floor.

“Bow!” she screamed, “I can’t move!”

The massive girl stepped toward Bow, and he made a decision that was either incredibly smart or incredibly stupid. He loosed the explosive arrow right at the top of the cylinder, diving forward and hitting the ground beside Glimmer as the container burst open with a bang that shook the catwalk once more. Steam exploded through the breach, searing his arms and face. 

He didn’t stop to see what happened to their attacker. He hooked his arms underneath Glimmer, lifted her up, and  _ ran _ . She was a limp deadweight in his arms, but her eyes were alert, and she squeaked out,

“What’s happening to me?!”

“I don’t know!” Bow said, racing through the nearest door and out into the hallway.

He picked a direction and sprinted. 

_ This is bad. This is reeeeeeally bad! _

And it only got worse when he came to a door at the end of the hallway. He set Glimmer on the floor, propped up against the wall, and tried to turn the crank to open the door. It wouldn’t budge. His hands, slick with sweat, slipped along the metal.

“Oh no,” he muttered, “No, no, no. OPEN!”

Footsteps approached. He saw Glimmer squeeze her eyes shut, saw the strain on her face, but, try as she might, she couldn’t move a muscle. She looked up at him in defeat.

“Don’t worry,” he said, notching an arrow.

He turned and gazed down the hallway, raising his bow and pulling back the arrow. He repeated his vow in his head, over and over, as he waited for their enemy to appear.

_ I won’t let anyone else die. _


End file.
